Reverse of a Dark Future
by Tiro
Summary: Harry won the war, at the cost of many lives. Faced with a chance to change all that, he do so and meets an old friend of Voldemort with a tempting suggestion. Slight SLASH. EDITED 2010.
1. Prologue

**Reverse of a Dark Future**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Harry Potter, JK Rowling does. She is a wonderful author and I love her Harry Potter books. I do not own any of the persons in this fic **except** for Morin Black. He's mine, I created him!

**Spoilers**: Um, book four. Only a bit though, and book five does not happen in this fic. Good if you have read up to book four.

**Pairings**: None. Voldemort is being a little perverted with his old friend, Morin Black.

-

**11****th January 2010**

Yes, hello, it's me again! This story is now being thoroughly redone, and I will try my best to remove most of my old mistakes.

I hope you will enjoy it!

-

**Prologue**

**Sahara desert  
****Year 2016**

Surrounded by a sea of sand was a large manor, magical wards put there so no Muggles could accidently find their way inside. The wind howled around it for the moment, but in the manor it was oddly silent. All spaces seemed to be covered in a fine layer of dust, and even the air had not escaped it. And with a swift spell, no desert heat had managed to come in. Instead it was almost chillingly cold.

Suddenly, the stairs creaked. Underneath, the soft sound of gentle feet walking down. The creaking echoed in the empty hall.

A man emerged and with a snap of his fingers a fire was burning in the hearth in the nearby living room. Walking over, candles lit after him, as if sensing his presence. Or responding to the subtle use of his wandless magic. Sinking down in a high armchair, he gave out a sigh and absently looked over the room. His face was pale, with dark green eyes that shone in the dark room. His hair was black as a crow's feathers, and it was slung over his left shoulder to normally end around his knees when he stood up, now coming to his waist in its braided state. The pale and long fingers gently drummed on the chairs arms, as he often did whenever he was bored out of his mind. His frame was thin and quite tall, dressed in black robes. A firebolt scar, nearly invisible, could be seen faintly on his forehead.

Harry Potter gently rubbed the dark green eyes with a sigh and resumed his drumming. Fourteen years… For fourteen years he had lived here, in this empty and cold house, despite the hot temperature outside, way out in the desert. Fourteen years since he had killed Voldemort. Everyone in the Wizarding world had wanted to thank him after that. Those who had survived of course.

Harry looked empty ahead of him. Ron, Hermione, Sirius, Albus… so many had died. Remus, locked up in St. Mungo for being mentally unstable. The Boy-Who-Lived pulled out a small bottle from the depths of his robe and stared at it as he turned it with his long fingers. A potion for curing werewolves. Too late for Remus, as he had already given in to the beast. Harry still could not throw it away. Severus had helped him it. Severus, killed by Bellatrix Lestrange.

Harry had thrown his first Avada Kedavra on that very day. He had enjoyed the look of shock on that bitch's face as she died. But the greasy professor had died as well. You could not wake up the dead, no matter how much you wished for it. Severus had become a great friend to Harry, and now he was all alone. Or rather, he had chosen to be all alone. Mad-Eye Moody was still alive; one of the few survivors of his friends.

The green-eyed man had not stayed long in public before disappearing. He could not take it. All the whispers, the looks, the congratulations from those who had thought he was a nutcase. He just wanted away.

So he had run away. He found this house that belonged to Morin Black, an old friend to Voldemort who had stepped over to the Light side not long after Voldemort had finished school. Morin Black had died ten years ago by suicide. He had left anything he owned to the Boy-Who-Lived.

Harry rubbed his eyes again; a headache was coming. He thought again over the conversation where Morin had told him about a potion that would take him to the past. Too bad he had yet to find it. The two of them had even made plans about what to do if he ever got back to the past.

A sudden knock on the outer door made Harry freeze. He leaped up as it knocked again, wondering who the hell had found him here, in the middle of nowhere. He silently cursed himself for not being more aware but stopped as he recognized the aura. He smiled the tiniest bit and went to the door. He opened it, startling the man outside and said:

"Hello Moody."

"Harry?"

"Yes I believe that is me," Harry answered and stepped aside.

Moody limped inside and Harry closed the door. His normally spinning eye was gone. Left was a gaping hole. Harry knew that side of Moody's head had been damaged pretty good, so the eye did not work anymore. Not with Moody at least. The ex-Auror shook off his robe and said:

"Took a good three years to find you, you little brat."

"Really? And I thought I was grown up by now."

"No one expected you to live in Morin Black's house. And yes, you are still a brat. Is he home or…?"

"He died ten years ago," Harry said. "Some tea?"

"Tea sounds good," Moody said. "Do you keep up with dates?"

"Dates? Ehm, no? Why should I?" Harry asked with a curiosity in his voice.

"For your information, it's July. July 31st."

Harry stared blankly at Moody. The older man could see the younger trying to understand. Then:

"Oh, it's my birthday."

"Well, congratulations on that one. How could you forget?"

"The only reason I know it's day and night it's because of the light," Harry said as he conjured some tea from thin air. "And sometimes, not even that helps."

Moody sat down on the sofa with a groan and then said:

"I got a present for you."

"For me? I never got presents after my 17th birthday," Harry said.

"Well, I got one now, brat. Or well, actually, it's from me, Severus and Remus from the beginning," Moody said. "We figured it would be the perfect gift. Never had the chance to give it though. And when Severus died and Remus was locked in, I couldn't get myself to give it to you."

Harry was very still as Moody pressed a small package into his hands. With a silent understanding Harry opened the package and then stared. A mirror, surrounded by jewels, Ancient Runes and holy stones. Moody spoke up, startling Harry:

"Severus left a message with it."

The Boy-Who-Lived looked up and the ex-Auror continued:

"Severus' exact words: The last of its kind, and only one left in it. Remus and I added: Be careful what you wish for."

Harry stared at him for a moment, and then it clicked. Moody grinned and said:

"Seems you got a good bit of Ravenclaw in you."

Harry stroke the mirror and said:

"I'm going up for a bit. Feel yourself at home."

"Sure," Moody said as he snatched a scone.

Harry walked up and opened the door to Morin's old room. The only room he had left untouched. He could not bring himself to remove the things Morin had left behind. He stopped in the middle of the dusty room, took a deep breath as he closed his eyes and then said aloud:

"I wish to be taken back exactly 22 years in this very same spot, in the very same room and house."

Moody felt the house shake and took up his teacup before the liquid could spill over. The sound of a thousand broken cries and the dust rose in the rooms. Light made him blink for a few times and then it was all silent again. Moody felt a single tear leave his eye as he sat in darkness. Then he said:

"Make your parents proud Harry."

Tbc…

* * *

**EDITED**** 2010-01-11.**

Until later,

Ja,

Tiro


	2. Ch 1: The appearance of Morin Black

**Reverse of a Dark Future**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Harry Potter, JK Rowling does. She is a wonderful author and I love her Harry Potter books. I do not own any of the persons in this fic **except** for Morin Black. He's mine, I created him!

**Spoilers**: Um, book four. Only a bit though, and book five does not happen in this fic. Good if you have read up to book four.

It's not spoilers, but I will warn you that all of the characters will be a bit different. The most major ones are Snape, Draco, the Weasley twins, Percy and Voldemort.

And beware, because I am an evil girl and I have changed Voldemort's past!

Not everything will center on Harry, but most of the time it will together with Morin. Morin is involved in Harry's whole life and they will get close to each other. But some parts will be all Morin, but I will not make this fic so it will only be about Morin, don't worry.

**Pairings**: None. Voldemort is being a little perverted with his old friend, Morin Black.

Chapter one here. Enjoy.

-

**EDITED 2010-01-11**

-

**Chapter One: ****The appearance of Morin Black**

**Sahara desert  
****Year 1994**

To say Morin Black was surprised when a person appeared in his bedroom out of nowhere was an understatement of the year. When the person introduced himself as Harry Potter, Morin wondered if he needed glasses because the man standing in the room did not look much like the guy. However, after a few hours, a pensive and a lot of memories later, he was ready to take that back. Morin leaned back and looked long and hard at Harry. Then he smiled a bit.

"Seems like my brain still worked correctly in the future," he said and Harry looked at him. "Still, can't believe I lived for that long."

"You were given means to survive for a lot longer," Harry said carefully.

"Yes I was given that," Morin said, "but have you never heard about a person who died of a broken heart because of the life he has lived? I know here and now I have not long left."

"I know that, but you must help me."

"You are the Boy-Who-Lived."

"In this time, I'm not," Harry said. "I don't count. It's my younger self who counts. And I don't want that for him."

"Then how do you suppose we do this? I can't be of much help."

Harry looked at him.

"I think you can," he replied. "There is the potion you suggested to me."

"Ah, yes I saw that memory. However, I didn't get to see which one," Morin said and leaned forward.

"A potion to merge," the man from the future said. "To merge us together. I give you life-support… you help me stop Voldemort."

Morin looked at him for a long time.

"Which body are we to merge into?" he asked.

"Both of them," Harry said. "I will be in your conscious but I will observe, not interact."

"So I will be me?"

"Yes," the man said. "And when you don't have the strength, you take mine."

Morin gazed at his clasped hands. Harry looked around the living-room, much livelier compared to when he lived there. There was even a few photos in the room but he knew it was not of Morin's family.

"Do I have the receipt to make the potion?" Morin asked.

"Yes, you do have it. You don't remember that?" Harry replied, surprised.

"For Merlin's sake, I've had better things to do then to look through old potions works!"

-

Harry looked on as Morin was making the potion, his brow furrowed and gaze focused. He was reading from yellowing parchments, crinkling as the older man smoothed them out.

"Merlin," he muttered. "These pages are falling apart, and I'm almost as old as they are! Am I'm going to start falling apart as well? Where did the quality of the papers go?"

The man from the future smiled and shook his head. Trust Morin to make fun of his age and the parchments at the same time. The potions lab was the same as ever, filled with ingredients and pots and kettles and bottles. Rows and rows of bottles with liquids, potions with staining labels, books lying haphazardly on shelves as if Morin had flung them there in a hurry.

"It will be done in a half-hour," Morin said as he straightened up. "Needs to simmer for twenty-five, and cool down for five."

"Excellent," the younger of the two said.

Morin began to smile but instead coughed heavily and wet, holding a hand to his mouth. As he removed the hand, faint sprays of fine blood covered his lips and palm.

"What the?" Harry said even as he rushed up to the man. "Morin, are you alright?"

"I've been better," Morin said and wiped his mouth with a handkerchief. "I've survived worse, so don't worry about it. With your strength, I will be able to finish this."

The man from the future still held onto Morin's arm and the older allowed it.

-

"Why must we drink it in wineglasses?" Harry asked irritably.

"Because I haven't used these wineglasses ever," Morin said as he divided the potion in two glasses. "They've stood there, for over twenty years, in my cabinet without being used! I have to use them at least once."

"Whatever," Harry muttered.

"Now, now, don't look so sullen! Cheer up!"

"We're about to merge and you're about to help me stop your best friend, and you tell me to cheer up?"

Morin looked at Harry and gave a little sad smile.

"Tom… yes, he is my friend. He's so much more than my friend but… I can't let him hurt more people. I just can't. I don't do this because I hate him. I do it because I love him."

Harry nodded, knowing that. He lifted the glass and said:

"Bottom up?"

"Nothing other," Morin said and together they downed the potion.

-

**Hogwarts  
****Three days later**

One would not call Albus Dumbledore a man with great haste. Sure, he would walk fast if he wished, but there was today no need for it.

So it was a surprise to the teachers when they saw their headmaster almost fly down the stairs, carrying him swiftly to the Entrance doors. As he closed in on them, the doors opened by themselves, as if sensing his hurry, and Albus ran down the stone stairs and onto the grass. Severus Snape and Minerva McGonagall, who he had been talking to earlier when he just bolted, ran after him.

"Albus!" McGonagall called out. "What's wrong?"

Albus came to a stop and looked at the gate as it opened. A man came walking through it and both McGonagall and Snape looked to see who it was.

Raven hair surrounded his pale face, ending around his chest, with a dark green robe swept around his shoulders. Metal boots on his feet, he walking with an easy yet fast stride towards them. If they focused, the man's eyes could be green as emeralds.

"Albus, do you know him?" McGonagall said.

"Yes," the headmaster said. "But…"

"But what?" the witch asked.

"He was declared dead fourteen years ago."

-

Looking up at the castle, Morin could not help the smile coming out. So long since he last saw the place. The aura of the three came to him easily and he looked at them. At the sight of the aged headmaster, he felt a bit teary-eyed and deep inside, he felt Harry shift, joy spreading. Albus was a sight for sore eyes, for both of them.

Remembering both McGonagall and Snape, he smiled a bit more. To think he had left them all. But it had been so hard to stay. Sometimes oblivion was better than the bitter truth.

Albus began to move towards him, and Morin felt a glimmer of hope within the waves of the man's magic, felt his heart swell. He had been missed.

-

Albus stopped a few yards from Morin, not daring to walk closer if the man indeed was a hallucination. He would probably not be able to survive it.

"Hello headmaster," Morin said, bowing his head a bit.

"Is it really you?" the old wizard said.

"The one and only," Morin answered. "I'm sorry… for not telling you that I was alive."

"Why didn't you?"

"I thought it was better if the Ministry thought I was dead," the Black said. Albus knew that better than anyone, and nodded in understanding.

"Why coming back now then?" McGonagall asked.

"He's on the move", Morin said and Albus froze. "You know as well as I do Albus that I know when Voldemort is planning something naughty."

The smile on the man's face made the Potions and Transfiguration professors to shiver. Albus smiled and said:

"Boy, I have missed you a lot."

"No one around to pick on you?" Morin said and battled his eyelashes.

"I never missed that part of you," the headmaster said with a laugh and Morin pouted.

"You crush my heart," the younger man said dramatically.

"Come to join me at the office," Albus said. "You have fourteen years of a story to tell me."

"I'm afraid that's impossible," Morin said.

"Why?" the old wizard asked, puzzled.

"Albus… please. I don't want to bore you to death."

The laugh he got in return was all worth it.

-

**The Quidditch World Cup**

Harry, Ron and Hermione sat by their tent as they waited for lunch. Arthur was busy jumping up and greeting on people rather than helping Percy to cook. The Weasley looked up at the three of them from his position by the fire and the food and said:

"It won't hurt if you can give me a hand."

"I'm not good at cooking," Ron said. "Do it yourself."

"Ronald!" Hermione said and started talking about the importance of helping each other.

Meanwhile Harry sat down next to Percy and said:

"The two of them…"

Percy only smiled.

"So what do you need help with?" the young teen asked.

They continued on for a while and then the two oldest Weasley brothers, Bill and Charlie, came out. The younger of the two of them saw someone and, much to the horror of the trio, said happily:

"Hi there professor Snape!"

"Charlie," Snape's voice answered and they turned around.

It was indeed the Greasy professor. He stood in his normal robes, but no scowl on his face. He shaded his eyes with his left hand and sighed.

"It's too damn warm for a meeting place," he sighed. "What was that idiot thinking?"

"Oh hi there Severus," Arthur said. "Want something to drink? And who are you talking poorly about now?"

"Something cold please," the professor answered. "And I was talking about an old friend of Dumbledore's, Morin Black."

Arthur stared dumbfounded at Snape as the rest of his children came out from the tents. Then he said, unaware his children, Hermione and Harry was listening:

"_The_ Morin Black?"

"Yes," Snape answered and accepted the cold pumpkin juice Bill gave him. "The one and only Morin Black."

"The only one who openly fought You-Know-Who and survived it," Arthur said in awe. "But I thought he was dead?"

"You know the Ministry better than me Arthur," the professor said. "They watched You-Know-Who disappear and wanted to grab onto something."

"But didn't Morin Black fight against You-Know-Who as you just said?" Hermione said as she had gotten interested. The others listened intently.

"Hermione," Arthur said, "before You-Know-Who became evil, he was indeed only a child. Morin Black knew him back then."

"Speak of the devil, here he comes," Snape said. "And dressed in double-robes, what is the bloody idiot thinking?!"

They all turned around and got their first look on Morin Black.

The man was walking their way as he had spotted Snape. Wearing a dark green neck shirt, tight black pants and metal boots and over that, a thin black robe fastened to the shirt by chains along with a thick black robe over all that, they also wondered what the man was thinking on. His face was pale and eyes near the same as Harry's, his hair black and up in a ponytails.

Snape called out when he was closer:

"Are you completely mad?"

"Nope," Morin answered all too happy. "I'm just cold."

"Cold?!" the greasy man burst out. "How?!"

"Spend one week on Antarctic and let's see how you feel," Morin answered with a sniff and pulled the robe closer just to drive Snape mad. "Oh, hello Arthur. It's been a while; how's Molly? I see you got all your kids here as well; they're all grown up!"

This was said very cheerfully but then he saw Hermione and Harry. He tilted his head, eyes filled of curiosity and then he said while pointing at them:

"But those two aren't yours right?"

Arthur invited the cheerful black-dressed man to sit down and waited until the Black was sitting cross-legged not too far from the fire before saying:

"No, they are not mine. The girl is our wonderful Hermione Granger," to this she blushed and the children grinned, "and that is Harry Potter."

"Harry Potter?" Morin said and turned his eyes to Harry.

Harry tried to look away, but then realized that Morin was not looking at his scar but his eyes. Finally Morin smiled softly and said:

"Everyone says you look so much like your father."

Harry was disappointed, thinking that maybe someone else than Sirius would say something different about how he looked, but then Morin continued:

"But I don't see that. Yes, you look a bit like him but you have your mother's eyes."

"My mother's eyes?" Harry said, surprised. "You knew my mother?"

"I knew your parents and their friends rather well," the Black said absently and accepted the pumpkin juice handed to him by Percy.

"For Merlin's sake Morin, can you take off that bloody robe?" Snape finally snapped a few moments later.

"Alright, alright," the man said and shrugged it off. "You're so picky."

"You're the idiot."

"I am not!"

"You never make sense when you speak."

"Excuse me, but I didn't exactly have anyone to talk to in fourteen years! Who was I supposed to talk to? The wall in my house? I'm very sorry, Severus, but I don't think that would have been most helpful!"

They looked on as Snape and Morin bickered back and forth with amused looks. But Harry was staring at the Black. A person who knew Voldemort also knew his parents? That was odd. But he looked, and acted, all too friendly to be with someone like Voldemort…

Morin gave up and said:

"You're hopeless Severus."

"I am so not going to answer on that one."

"Good."

"How have you been all these years?" Arthur said to the older man.

"Bored," Morin answered flatly. "I was so bored I even started to try inventing a potion that made tongues grow."

"Was it a success?" Fred asked eagerly.

"I don't know; I didn't have anyone to test it on!" the Black said.

Arthur sighed of relief and the twins shoulders slumped in defeat. Snape looked at the oldest Weasley and grinned.

"Morin, why don't you talk a bit with the twins, Fred and George, about your life on Hogwarts?" the potions master said.

"Why?" the twins asked.

"What do you mean?" Morin asked.

"What you did beyond studying," Snape said with that kind of evil look he had when taking points from Gryffindor. The children shrunk away but soon realized it was not them who should be afraid:

"Do you mean the pranks?"

Arthur went pale of horror.

"No, I forbid you Morin!" the man said. "Fred and George have enough with pranks."

"So they don't need the prank when I made professor Dumbledore's hair pink with green highlights?" the man said.

"Yes we need that one!" the twins said with equal devilish smiles and grabbed the older man before he could protest.

"You did that on purpose didn't you Severus?" the oldest Weasley groaned as he watched in despair his sons starting asking Morin about the pranks. Fred was holding a note pad and was scribbling down whatever Morin was saying.

"Yes," the greasy professor said without hesitation. "From what I heard Morin was quite good with the combination of spells and potions. His combinations were often used in pranks."

"Pranks on which house?" Hermione said. "Was it Hufflepuff or--"

"Nonsense, why choosing! No, he did all of the houses," Snape said. "It could be on the Slytherins one day, Ravenclaw the next and Gryffindor the third before Hufflepuff suffered the forth day."

"Did he pull the pranks?" Ron said with wide eyes.

"He just planned them," the potions master said, all too happy about giving the twins' parents a hard time to refuse them an answer. "He is smart enough to plan it and make it look like it was someone else who did it."

"But he can't be smarter than Hermione," the twins said, "right?"

Morin suddenly became very uncomfortable and Snape grinned yet again. The Weasley children, Hermione and Harry were a bit scared; the potions professor never acted this way. He also acted civil towards them all. And he was way too happy at that moment.

"Miss Granger," the greasy man said and Hermione snapped to attention. "You have met your superior I'm afraid."

"You were smarter than me in school?" she asked the Black who nodded miserably, not wanting anyone to find out. "Marvellous! How did your studies go?" She scooted closer to him, eager. He reared back a bit at seeing her large eyes, raising an eyebrow before complying in answering her question.

"I actually finished school, despite my extra classes in difficult subjects, in my fifth year," Morin said and had the grace to look sheepish.

They were speechless. Hermione's mouth was hanging open. Then she said slowly:

"What kind of difficult subjects?"

"Advanced potions, Duelling, Swordsmanship, Black Arts and a few more," the Black said and hid his face as their jaws dropped. "What? I didn't do anything else than study before school!"

"Why not?" Harry dared to ask.

Harry saw Morin flinch at the question.

"I just didn't want to do normal things," the Black said, looking away. "When I was young, I always thought that normal stuff children does was too boring. So I never did that stuff kids do."

Silence as everyone stared at Morin. He looked away with a frown, so unlike his normally cheerfully nature.

The silence only lasted for a few seconds though, and then they talked about other things. Harry saw the man relax once the focus was off from him. But the Boy-Who-Lived would not avert his attention from Morin just yet. He crept closer and sat down next to the man.

"You said you knew my parents," Harry said.

"Yes." The tone was quite friendly, but it held a sadness hidden underneath.

"Can you tell me about them?" Harry asked with a faint blush.

Morin looked down at him, and for a moment he was silent. Then he said:

"What do you wish to know?"

"Everything!"

"I'm afraid we do not have so much time as it would take if I would tell you everything I knew about your parents, so decide for something more easily."

Harry was silent for a while, and then decided to ask the question he had in his head for a long time:

"Okay… My mother. How was she like?" Remus had told him a bit of her, but he wished to learn more. It was like she was unknown to everyone, or they refused to share with him how she was.

"Lily? Perfect in every possible way I might say," the Black said. "James was really lucky to get her. She supported others even when she had her own burdens. She treated everyone like humans; she even treated werewolves like humans."

Harry looked at Morin. Then he said:

"I wish I had known her."

"I wish that too," Morin said and the young man looked at him. "I don't know what's worse; to not have parents or to have parents who doesn't even notice you."

Harry stared at Morin's face. Did the man just say that? Had Morin been ignored by his parents? The Black smiled brightly at him, even though his green eyes were incredible sad, and said:

"What happens, happens. We can't exactly go back and change it."

"You're right," Harry said. "I'll get to know them sooner or later."

"What do you mean?"

"When I die I'll meet them right? That means I'll get to know them then."

Morin looked at the boy for a while. Then he rested his head in his hand and smiled more softly.

"Yeah, that's right," he said and looked up in the sky. "Just live your life fully."

"What?" Harry said.

"You never know when you are about to die," Morin said. "Just don't walk around hoping you will die just so you can meet your parents. I'm sure that's not what they want."

Harry looked at the Black. The said man rose up and said:

"We better start head to the game."

"You're gonna watch it?" Ron said.

"I have no choice, Albus gave us tickets before we even had the chance to complain," the Black said, talking about both himself and the greasy professor. "Frankly, Quidditch is not an entertainment for me."

"What is entertainment for you then?" Harry asked.

"Hardly anything these days," Morin said as he bent down to take his thick robe he had used to sit on. "Maybe making potions, but even that begins to become boring. It's not easy finding a challenge these days."

With that, he began to walk away while dusting off the robe. Snape rose up with a mutter of "Ungrateful man who doesn't understand potions these days" and followed. Hermione turned to Ron and Harry and they looked at each other for a while. Then Harry said:

"Just who is Morin Black?"

Tbc…

* * *

**EDITED 2010-01-11**

Chapter two: the Quidditch game, the Death eaters and then coming to Hogwarts. What plans have Albus and Morin made?

Until later,

Ja,

Tiro


	3. Ch 2:The Quidditch World Cup

**Reverse of a Dark Future**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Harry Potter, JK Rowling does. She is a wonderful author and I love her Harry Potter books. I do not own any of the persons in this fic **except** for Morin Black. He's mine, I created him!

**Spoilers**: Um, book four and five. Only a bit though in the fourth book, and book five does not happen in this fic except that I mention some things and some creatures you should be aware about. Good if you have read up to book five. Book six or seven does not happen at all.

It's not spoilers, but I will warn you that all of the characters will be a bit different. The most major ones are Snape, Draco, the Weasley twins, Percy and Voldemort. Oh, and Harry will be a bit different, and I warn you it will be a bit mental abuse from the Dursleys directed to our little Harry.

And beware, because I am an evil girl and I have changed Voldemort's past!

Not everything will center on Harry, but most of the time it will together with Morin. Morin is involved in Harry's whole life and they will get close to each other. But some parts will be all Morin, but I will not make this fic so it will only be about Morin, don't worry.

**Pairings**: Slight pairing between Morin and Voldemort.

Chapter two. Enjoy. Oh and before I forget; Ron is gonna be a bit more dense than usual and those who are Ron-fans, sorry! It will not be any major, only a fluke! Don't kill me; I like Ron as well!

-

**EDITED 2010-01-11**

-

**Chapter Two: The Quidditch World Cup and Beginning of the Fourth year**

Snape caught up with the Black and fell into step with him. The older man walked on, watching the sky as he did. The potions master wondered not for the first time how Morin had such good reflexes. Even if they were walking with many other peoples, and Morin not even watching, the Black never bumped into anyone nor no one bumped into him.

"What's on your mind Severus?" the Black suddenly asked.

"You have very good reflexes," Snape said, a bit startled. "Good for someone in your age."

"Fighting makes you a bit paranoid," Morin said cheerfully.

"That's nothing to be so cheerful about," the potions master muttered quietly.

Morin finally looked down from the sky and sighed. He side-stepped a child that nearly ran into him and neatly avoided the mother coming running the second after. Snape only looked on, a bit amused. The Black looked at the two of them and shook his head.

"I do not understand parents these days," the older man mumbled.

His green eyes lingered a bit on the Weasleys, Harry and Hermione before shifting back in front of him. Next to him Snape sighed in misery.

"What's wrong Severus?"

"I… hate… Quidditch."

"You are not alone about that point."

-

As they came to the clearing where the stadium was, Morin finally took out their tickets.

"We're sitting almost the highest up," he said.

Snape looked up at the many flight of stairs and said:

"Do you think they mind if I stay down here?"

"Actually I think they do."

"… Damn."

They began to move up along with the crowds. Morin felt uncomfortable. He never liked crowds and now he was in a place full with them. Snape groaned and said:

"Just how many staircases do we have to walk up?"

"I can't see the end," Morin remarked, making the potions master groan once more.

The Black looked down and saw the Weasleys move upwards as well. He turned his eyes upwards once more and finally they found their seats. Morin sat down immediately and said:

"I'm not going to move from this spot until they are finished."

"So you're tired as well," the younger man said with a smirk.

"Please be quiet before I turn you into a rat."

"A rat?!"

"Yes, and feeding you to a cat. Hey, that rhymes!"

"I will be quiet." Snape rolled his eyes at the rhyme-comment.

"Very smart," Morin said and smiled when Snape glared at him. "Your glaring as no effect on me."

"Damn," the potions master said.

"No cussing."

"I'm not a child."

"Well, you're certainly younger than me."

Snape sighed and slumped further down into his seat. He never won an argument with the Black, no matter how hard he fought. The older man seemed to have an unlimited access to counter-arguments, no matter in what subject.

He looked over at Morin, who grinned at him.

"You're getting back for this," he threatened.

"Oooh, I can't wait for it," Morin answered back. "I've not been beaten since I was fifteen; let's see if you can break it."

Just the mere thought made Snape groan once more. Suddenly the stadium was filled with Ludo Bagman's enchanted voice. Morin wriggled to a more comfortable position and said:

"I'm never going to agree to anything like this again."

Snape inwardly agreed to that.

-

"Of all the people, it had to be Death eaters!"

Snape swore and continued ranting while Morin could do nothing more but look on, amused. The older man was leaning against a tree in the brink of the forest, looking on as the Death eaters attacked. They had been given strict orders by Dumbledore to not interfere in any fighting, but the Black's hand itched to curse the lowly people who tortured innocent.

He casually but swiftly pulled the greasy professor back just in time as a Crucio came pass them, missing Snape with only a few inches.

"You better be careful," Morin said at the younger man who stared at him.

A rustle of leaves behind them made them whip around. Then the Black relaxed and said:

"Hello there Mr. Potter."

Harry came out, blood covering half of his face.

"What happened Potter?" Snape said.

"Fell when I tried to get away from a spell sir," Harry said. "I'm a bit lost actually."

Snape expected the Black to cooing around the boy as everyone else did but Morin cocked his finger to make Harry come closer. The boy obeyed. Morin bent his back a bit to get to a more reasonable level with the teen, took a firm, but gentle, hold on Harry's chin and took a look on the wound.

"It's not very big but quite deep," Morin said. "You'll need healing, but I guess that will have to wait to later with all this mess. Does it hurt?"

"It doesn't hurt very much now," Harry replied and then added, "sir."

"Oh dear me, please call me Morin," Morin said with a faint smile. "With all the insults and titles I've been called, my name is still what I like the most to be called."

Morin conjured some water to a handkerchief and began to clean the wound, gently but swiftly.

"It's fine si—Morin," Harry said. "You don't have to."

"It's dirty and can cause infection," the Black said back. "An infection in a deep wound like this is painful Mr. Potter. Now stay still, or else you'll get me aggravated."

Snape had never seen anyone deal with the Boy-Who-Lived at that way. Treating the boy as an equal. Everyone else was fussing about him, or using him to get famous. Morin did neither.

"Press this to the wound to stop the bleeding," the Black said as he had taken out another handkerchief, "and stay close to me and Severus if you want to go unharmed."

Harry nodded and accepted the small cloth. Morin straightened up and said:

"We better find the others then. Severus if you may."

The potions master stepped into the forest after he had made sure that nothing was wrong and they started to walk. Suddenly they heard a scream and Harry stopped.

"Mr. Potter?" the Black said.

"Harry. Just Harry, Morin."

"Harry then. What's wrong?"

"I thought it sounded like Fred or George," the boy said.

Morin looked at him for a while, then shrugged and said:

"You continue on your way; I'll check it up."

"Alone? Won't you wait for someone to back you up?" the young boy said.

"No why?" the Black said. "If it really was anyone of them, I rather go now."

"Why?" Snape asked.

"The Weasleys were one of the few that treated me with some respect whatsoever," Morin said. "Their children in trouble, I'll help them. End of story, and I'll be back in no time. You just focus on finding Arthur or the others."

Leaving them there, Morin moved into the forest again and the location from where the scream had come from. Soon he came into a small clearing and saw some Death Eaters standing in a raing around an unmoving form while laughing. Morin brought out his wand and cast a few silent Expelliarmus towards them, making them fly into the trees before walking over to the shaking body, wand still out in case of attack. He recognized the twin as George, and crouched down next to the teen. He wiped away a string of blood from the teen's chin, seeing it was the aftershocks of a Crucio.

"George, it's me, Morin Black," he said softly. "You've been hit by a Crucio."

"Ye-yeah, I know," the redhead gasped.

"I have a potion," Morin said and went through his pockets before drawing out a small bottles, "that weakens the effects of the curse. Do you trust me enough to let me give it to you?"

George was lifted up a bit by the older man and Morin uncorked the bottle.

"Dad trusts you," the young man said. "He said you were a great person, even though you followed your own path. He said he could put his life in your hands, so I feel I can trust you."

"I'm feeling flattered," the Black said and gently tipped the bottle so George could drink the potion easily. "And you can come out now child."

A rustle was heard and a young teen stepped out. Blonde hair, grey eyes and pale skin. Morin looked at him for a bit, recognizing the features and said:

"You are a Malfoy aren't you? Draco Malfoy if I'm not wrong, Lucius' son."

"Yes I am," Draco answered, a bit startled and no malice in his voice.

"Something the matter?"

"I heard a man with your description was seen with Severus Snape," the young Malfoy said although a bit hesitantly. "He's my godfather and the only adult I trust at the moment."

"At the moment?" Morin muttered under his breath with a raised eyebrow. "Well, that certainly sounded like me when I was in his age." Then he raised his voice: "You want me to take you to him?"

"If that isn't too much of a trouble," Draco replied.

"I was going to him anyway," Morin said and lifted up the Weasley. "I hope you don't mind George's company."

"It's alright."

Morin nodded and made sure George was comfortable before starting to walk, making sure Draco was following him. The potion began to take effect on the Weasley and he was soon fast asleep due to it.

Suddenly a curse was thrown their way and Draco was in the curse's path. The Black swiftly dragged the young Malfoy to him and hid him as the curse missed them just with an inch. Draco was shaking, his normal behaviour as the arrogant Slytherin gone. If that ever was his normal behaviour to begin with. Morin stroke the soft hair in a calming gesture, not really noticing how the young Malfoy relaxed against his side, and looked around. He somehow had managed to hold George with only one arm, letting most of the redhead's upper body resting against his chest. One of his arms hung over Morin's back, the other limp at his side.

"Mr. Malfoy…"

"Draco," the young boy interrupted, unconsciously clenching the black robe he had gotten hold of. "I rather not be a Malfoy anymore."

"As you wish," Morin said. "Draco. I want you to hold on tightly and not let go of me for one second, alright?"

Draco nodded and wrapped his arms around the waist. Morin closed his eyes, and they slowly began to sinks into the shadows. The teen had never seen anything like it. The Black came in and out from other people's shadows, trying to find someone he knew. Draco's eyes were wide open at all time although he barely saw anything in the darkish world. Finally Morin went up from the shadows but he did not make any move to make Draco let go. And frankly, the Malfoy did not want to.

Morin shifted George a bit and looked around. He had felt Snape's aura with Arthur's. The others he vaguely recognized as the children. He rubbed Draco's shoulder and said:

"I've found Severus. Shall we go to him?"

Draco slowly let go and nodded. Morin smiled and began to walk. Draco grabbed a bit of the Black's robe, expected the older man to swat the hand away and was inwardly glad when he did not.

-

The golden trio looked around. Arthur was a wreak and not even the potions master could calm him down. Ginny was crying and Hermione tried everything to calm her down. Ron had very slowly let his head rest against Harry's shoulder, and the smaller teen had let him. Even Percy looked like a wreak and Charlie was currently soothing his younger brother. Fred sat on the ground, staring in front of him with Bill's arm around him and the older brother was speaking softly to him. They all feared that George was dead.

Suddenly Snape looked up with a sharp snap that made them jump. He stared wildly around them, and then he saw something. His body seemed to relax and he called out:

"Morin! Is he alive?!"

They all whipped around and saw the older man coming towards them. In his arms was George and walking behind was none other than the young Malfoy.

"Young Draco wanted to see you Severus so I offered to escort him to you," the Black said calmly, "and yes, Mr. Weasley is fine. He has suffered a bit but he just needs to rest now. And my arms are growing numb, so if you would Arthur…"

Arthur gladly took George and almost cried of relief when the young redhead opened his eyes.

"Hi dad," George weakly said.

Fred came up to them first, tears shining in his eyes but wearing a silly grin as he got a hold of his twin. The others came fast enough to them and Draco slowly let go of Morin's robe with a look of longing at them, as he also wanted to be loved like George at that moment. Snape looked at the young teen and said:

"What's wrong Draco?"

At first, the child made no noise. The Weasleys, Harry and Hermione looked their way as well. Draco made a swift decision and grabbed Morin's arm for reassurance. Morin encouraged him to speak.

"Something really bad happened," Draco finally said. "Father sent Death eaters after me, and I got lucky to run into Mr. Black."

"Why did Lucius send out Death eaters at you?" Arthur asked.

"I refused to follow his path," he continued. "Sev, I think I need to stay with you for the summer."

"He threatened you?" the potions master said with wide eyes.

"He's going to kill me," Draco said and looked away. Morin noted the grip on his arm was painfully tight but made no noise or move to alert the child. "He said it himself. I just… I can't ever go back to Malfoy manor."

The last sentence was dropped abruptly and then he lowered his head, letting his blonde hair drop over his eyes. The golden trio and the Weasleys looked at the young Malfoy. Morin slowly bended up Draco's fingers from his robes and let Snape drape an arm around the boy's shoulders. Draco looked up at the greasy professor who said:

"It's alright Draco. We'll figure something out."

Draco bent his head again and Morin absently let a hand ran over the blonde hair before moving away.

"Where are you going Morin?" Arthur said.

"Finding a Malfoy," the Black answered.

"Why?" Snape said.

"Parents who threaten to kill their children are trash," Morin's cold voice answered and they shuddered. "And I was indeed a Slytherin."

"What has that to do with anything?" Draco asked, confused.

"I protect the Slytherins that needs my help, and I punish the Slytherins that ignores the motto Salazar Slytherin made," Morin said and looked at Draco. "I don't know if you were taught his motto but I was."

"What motto was that?" Harry dared to ask.

"Protect your own."

Morin disappeared into the shadows again. Arthur stared and then said:

"That was… Dark magic."

"Morin is an expert in Dark magic," Snape said. "I don't know what else he's expert in, but I do suspect Lucius will suffer quite a bit."

-

Lucius Malfoy screamed of pain as he was thrown at the ground. The curse resting on him was stronger than a Crucio. Morin slowly walked towards the blonde man and said:

"How do you find the curse? Tickling, aching or paining? Please do tell me since I've rarely used it on anyone."

"It must be a forbidden one," Lucius panted because of the pain, "so they'll discover you and you'll end up in Azkaban."

"Oh, this isn't a forbidden one," the Black said with a wide smile and sparkling eyes. "In face, no one except for me and an old friend of mine knows it exists."

Lucius widened his eyes at the happiness that radiated through the older man. This man was enjoying torture?? The Black crouched down and said with a completely different attitude:

"Why do you want to kill your son?"

"He's worthless," the Malfoy spat but shivered inside at the look Morin gave him. "He doesn't recognize the Dark Lord as his master."

"I dare say he's pretty clever," Morin said absently as he checked his nails. "I would be worried if I had a son and he only listened to what I had to say."

"You don't understand. The Dark Lord will punish people like you…"

"Punish me? How? With spanking? Riiiight."

"What are you talking about?" Lucius said, enraged.

"You don't know?" Morin said with a smile. "I think Voldemort would rather want to fuck me than punish me."

"What?!"

"Pitiful one," Morin said and rose up. "He didn't even tell you. Death Eater, Tom loves me. He always says that whenever we meet. And I think he wants to make up since last we met."

"What happened then?"

"He held me under Crucio for almost an hour," Morin said casually while Lucius froze. One hour?? That was enough to make you go insane! "And while he was doing that, he tried to convince me that he loved me. He promised he would never hurt me again. Let's see if he'll hold that promise. But I've said too much. I'm sorry, but for you it's over. Don't worry; you won't remember anything of this later on so don't bother about remembering details you can gossip with. The only company you'll have is those lovely Dementors."

Morin took out his wand and Lucius' eyes nearly bulged out their sockets. It was black and slender with a handle of small emeralds. A thin line stretched around the whole wand but then the older Malfoy saw it was an image of a snake. A snake just like the ones Voldemort loved. But what scared the Malfoy was that in the end of the handle was a small pendant. A pendant Voldemort had always worn around his neck.

"See the pendant?" Morin said while looking at the pendant lovingly. "Me and Tom bought one each to always carry it with us. He said he would wear it as long as he loved me, and I… I promised him the same. Tell me, did he carry his the last time you saw him?"

-

Draco looked towards the tent-opening. He was worried about the Black. He knew his father better than anyone, and the older Malfoy would not hesitate to kill. Arthur together with Bill and Charlie had gone to help the Ministry, leaving Percy and the potions master in charge. Percy was watching over George who was asleep, but the currently oldest Weasley in the tent still a bit shaken up. Fred was sitting on the opposite side, holding his twin's hand. Ginny had gone to sleep with Hermione as company if she needed someone to talk to while the two boys in the golden trio sat and were talking. Snape was sitting next to Draco, reading a book.

Suddenly the opening was pushed aside and Morin stepped inside. They all looked at him. He held his side and sat down with a wince.

"Fucker," he muttered. "Throwing a curse on my back. I thought I had him for sure."

"Did… did father do that?" Draco said.

"Yes," the Black said. "That's why I never spared a Death eater before. The first thing they do is trying to kill you again."

"Did you kill him?" the potions master said quietly.

"No," the older man said and pushed away his hair from his face. "I gave him to the Ministry but I doubt he will ever speak again."

They all looked at Morin, no one noticing the happiness of torturing someone slowly fade back into him. He suddenly rose and clutched his side as he coughed violently. Small drops of blood came out from his mouth along with the harsh coughing. Snape sprung up and examined the wound. He looked up at the Black's face and said:

"Morin, you left lung is damaged."

"Yes, I already know that," the Black hissed as he wiped away the blood from his lips. "I hate Death eaters."

"Don't we all?" Draco muttered.

-

Night started to descend as the morning sun rose over a field with a few odds tents still on the ground. The people were already in movement. In one tent there was still a few minutes of silence though.

Ginny and Hermione shared one bed, and were still deep asleep. Next to their bed was Ron. He was too asleep. Fred had fallen asleep together with his twin but was shifting a bit, disturbing the silence while George limply followed his brother. The two oldest children were not there, as was not the father. Percy was sleeping in a chair, looking uncomfortable. Snape and Draco had fallen asleep in two conjured beds next to each other.

Morin was nowhere in sight.

Harry woke up and sat up. He slipped on his glasses and looked around. Just then Morin stepped into the tent.

"Good morning Harry," he said, looking around the place. "I believe Arthur, Bill and Charlie will arrive any moment. Would you please help me wake them up so we can go as quickly as possible?"

Harry nodded and got up from the bed. He woke up his friends and Ginny pretty quickly and turned around. Morin was currently talking to the potions master. They both looked serious, talking quietly so no one would catch what they were saying. Snape turned to Draco and gently ran a hand through the blonde hair, careful to not wake the child up. Harry, curious of the gentleness in the greasy professor, leaned in and heard the next sentence the greasy professor said:

"Are you absolutely sure?"

"Yes Severus", Morin said and his face brightened a bit. "Consider yourself a guardian to Draco from now on."

"I can't believe the Ministry accepted", Snape murmured. "Thank you Morin."

"I did little", Morin said. "I merely told Albus. You know the Ministry and me. He said he would do anything he could and returned soon with the right papers. If we get to Hogwarts later today, you can sign them and then nothing can take him away from you."

Snape smiled and clasped Morin's shoulder in gratitude. Harry moved on and woke up the twins and Percy. Fred had to hold up George, who still was too sleepy to protest. Percy craned his neck with a wince and was glad when Morin passed on a potion for that from the potions master who was still with Draco. Arthur came into the tent and said:

"Be ready to go in five minutes."

-

They all moved towards the Burrow as the sun began to rise on the sky. George was once more in Morin's arms as his legs had not cooperated with him. The potions master had objected, saying the Black was still injured but the older man had dismissed it, saying that the three oldest Weasleys were far too tired to carry him and that Snape would most likely not do it. When the greasy professor had suggested levitate the redhead, which almost everyone agreed on, Morin had just picked up George and began walking with some muttering that had made the Weasley in his arms burst into laughter.

Draco was walking near the golden trio, and the silence between them was tense. Finally Draco excused himself and walked up to Morin. The Black turned to the young Malfoy, and shifted George. He patted Draco's head and continued to walk. Snape looked on from the back, a bit amused.

They soon reached the Burrow and Molly came running. Her face lit up when she saw Morin and she succeeded hugging both her son and the older man to her children's surprise. Morin patted her back and said:

"It's been quite some time Molly."

Molly could not get out a word, she just kissed Morin on the cheek and ushered them all inside. Arthur and Percy soon left to get to the Ministry and help sorting things out.

-

Over the next few days, people went in and out the Burrow. One day Morin could be there and getting something to eat by Molly only to be gone the next morning. Snape came with Draco a few days later, asking Molly to look after the young teen for a few hours for him while the potions master would help the Black with something. What the two of them were doing was never discussed in front of the children; not even in front of Bill and Charlie.

Ron and Hermione together with Ginny still had a hard time letting Draco be with them, but Harry found the blonde to be quite funny. They sat outside in the sun and just talked. Draco did not insult him or anyone else of the Weasley, not even once. The blonde could talk about the most pointless things, and sometimes homework. He did not seem inclined to wanting to insult anyone of the household, so Harry hoped it would stay that way. A cheerful Draco was far better than a snarling one.

The now young Snape, as his name-change had been cleared, actually went to Hermione before he left that day and apologized for calling her a 'Mudblood'. Two hours later, they had wondered what she was staring at and she realized she had not moved ever since he had apologized. Later she told Harry but no one else; she did not know why but she just wanted him to know that.

-

The day before Hogwarts was to begin Morin came once again, this time Draco with him. Molly smiled at them both and said:

"What makes me the honour?"

"Well, Severus was busy and Draco said he liked your cooking better than mine," Morin said. "I've lived with the two of them temporarily and we cook our own food."

"Actually Mrs. Weasley," Draco said with a smile, "Morin sucks on cooking."

"Hey!"

"It's true!"

"Yes I know that but couldn't you have said that a bit kinder?" Morin complained.

"Why?"

"Ungrateful brat."

Draco just stuck out his tongue playfully to the Black. Molly huffed slightly but said with a smile:

"Well, lunch should be ready in a half-hour. Think you can entertain yourself until then?"

"I'll just go outside for a bit then," Draco said.

"I heard you had an interesting plant you recently got," Morin said. "And both I and Severus are very interested."

"Mad potions masters don't you think?" Molly said to the blonde, who nodded eagerly.

"Hey, remember who you live with brat!"

Draco went outside and sat down on the ground. He turned around when he heard footsteps behind him. Ron stood there with a grim face.

"Weasley," Draco acknowledged, nodding his head slightly before returning gazing over the garden.

"Why does mum treat a Malfoy so well?" Ron said.

"Don't ask me," the blonde answered. "I don't know."

"You're just a git."

Draco got up and whipped around.

"What did you just call me?" the blonde said, trying to control his anger.

"Git," Ron said. "Mum is too nice to you."

"Maybe she feels sorry for me," Draco said. "You heard what my so called father would do to me."

"That doesn't make you a saint," the youngest Weasley son said. "And you're trying to take Harry from us."

"Take Harry?" Draco almost cried. "He's nice to me! He's the first person in years except for Severus who's nice to me! I'm not taking him from you or anything!"

"Liar!"

Ron jumped on him and socked him in the jaw, to which Draco responded with kicking him in the stomach. Within moments, they were both on the ground and the robe was ripped away from Draco, leaving him in pants and shirt and a split lip. None of them thought of sorting this out in a more calm way.

"Stop it!" George said as he limped towards them. "Stop it! Ron, are you completely mad?!"

Suddenly Morin came walking. He walked past George, and the redhead saw his face for a moment. Green eyes full of disappointment. George knew that kind of look was worse than a look of anger.

Morin grabbed the both boys, hauled them up and then pulled them apart. Draco instantly stopped fighting as he saw who had stopped them. He bowed his head but the Black said:

"Don't you dare turn your eyes from me Draco."

He snapped up his head again and stared into Morin's deep green eyes.

"Do you remember what Severus told you about this kind of thing?" Morin said.

"Not to do it," Draco said as he blushed in shame.

"What did you just do then?"

"I was in a fight."

Molly had taken Ron and was scolding him but stopped as she heard Morin. He certainly had a different way of scolding. Letting Ron go for the moment, she steadied George and listened at the Black as he continued:

"Why were you in the fight to begin with?"

"He called me git," Draco said, "and said I was stealing Harry from them! I wasn't stealing Harry; he's a person with his own will for Merlin's sake! And he called me a liar!"

Morin looked long at Draco and spoke softly, almost more terrifying than the greasy potions master:

"Was that really a reason to start fighting? You could have discussed this."

"He wouldn't have listened," the blonde said.

"You don't know that until you've tried. And if you had tried, and it hadn't work, then you could have fetched me or Molly. What did I tell you when you're angry or upset at someone?"

"To calm down," Draco said. "And if that didn't work, go and get an adult."

"Why didn't you do it this time?" Morin had gone down to Draco's level and carefully wiped away the tears that had started to pour down.

"I don't know," the teen whispered. "I was so angry I couldn't think. I just wanted a friend, and Harry is a great friend."

"Harry is a great friend indeed," the Black responded. "Now, what have you learned today because I hope I don't have to teach it to you again."

"Don't lash out and hit someone," Draco said with a sniff. "Either I need to calm down or get someone who can help me."

"Exactly. That wasn't so hard," Morin said. "Now, Harry was asking for you. You want to go inside, or should I say you want to be alone?"

"I want to be outside, if that's alright with him."

"It is."

Draco looked up to see Harry. The skinny teenager smiled at him and said:

"Seems like Mrs. Weasley has something to teach Ron thanks to Morin."

"I certainly have," Molly said. "Lunch should be ready soon, so come to the kitchen in ten minutes. And here Draco…"

She took out a handkerchief and handed it to the blonde. He wiped away the last of his tears and thanked her. She waved it off and helped her son into the house. As soon as she was inside, they heard her call for Ron.

"Want me to stay?" Morin asked.

"It's okay," Draco said. "I'm fine now."

Morin patted them both on the shoulder and went inside. Draco flopped down on the grass and laid back to stare at the sun. Harry soon followed his example. They lay in comfortable silence until Morin called in them to eat.

-

Ron was blushing in shame and anger and pretended that the blonde did not exist. For once, Arthur and Percy had managed to get themselves home for a little while. The younger of them looked like he had been to hell and back. His eyes were bloodshot, his skin pale and he seemed to nod off every once in a while. Arthur leaned over to Molly, carefully saying he had taken the day off for both him and Percy.

After that, the mother in the Weasley family seemed to brighten up the whole dining room.

After lunch they all walked to do their own business. Percy was almost dragged to his bed by Bill while Molly, Hermione and Ginny cleaned the kitchen. The twins went outside for a walk, and Charlie bundled up himself with a book in the living room. Draco sat quietly and was ready through a book Morin somehow had gotten him while Ron and Harry were chatting.

"Morin?" Arthur said. "A word?"

"Arthur, you're tired," Molly said. "Are you sure you need to speak with him right now?"

"I'm afraid it's very important," the man said. "It won't take long Molly. Let's go outside Morin."

The Black followed Arthur outside and Molly frowned.

"What's wrong mum?" Ginny asked. "You've dished the pot four times now."

"Nothing for you to worry about," Molly said absently. "I just don't like what Albus is doing."

"Why don't you like it?" Ron asked his mother.

"Morin looks exhausted," the woman said.

"Um," Draco said and they all looked at him. "He returned early this morning from Merlin knows where. He hasn't been home for days."

"What is he doing?" Molly asked the blonde.

"I don't know," Draco answered. "All I know that he's in pain yet keeps going."

-

Arthur gave a locket to Morin and said:

"Sirius gladly gave it to me. When he heard it could be a Horocrux he was more than happy to give it away."

"Thank you," Morin said and accepted it. "You have no idea how much this helps me."

"The house elf, Kreacher," Arthur said. "He was reluctant to give it away, but since it was Sirius' orders…"

"Don't worry about the elf," Morin said. "He's been too alone for too long. I'll see if I can get the poor thing out of that house for a while."

"You know him?"

"I… I knew Mrs. Black parents once. They were generous enough to let me live with them for a while."

Arthur just nodded.

"You seem tired," the Black said. "Why don't you go and rest for a while?"

"You look even worse than me," the Weasley said. "Take Draco home and follow your own advice."

"No need to be cheeky with me brat."

"Long time since anyone called me brat," Arthur laughed.

They went back inside and Arthur said to Molly:

"I'll go and rest for a while."

"Do that Arthur," she said and smiled.

"Time to go," Morin announced to Draco. "Severus should be done with the potions anytime."

"Means he has to go flying with me?" the blonde said with a smile.

"Yes, he has to go flying with you," Morin agreed. "I'm far too tired to even sit on a broom I'm afraid."

"And you're so boring in Quidditch."

"How so?" Harry asked.

"He catches the Quaffle every time he guards," Draco whined to the smaller boy. "And the Snitch we got recently always comes when he calls."

"Can't help that the ball likes me," Morin said with a shrug.

"You spelled it didn't you?" Draco growled.

"Now why would I do that?" the Black said with a wide grin.

"Because you hate playing!"

They all laughed. Even Ron. Draco pouted and Morin ruffled his hair.

"Take care now," Molly said as she smoothed out a bit of Morin's robe. "Don't get yourself into danger, and Draco please do not push off Severus from his broom. He is still the potions professor."

"Don't get yourself into danger?" Morin said with a crooked eyebrow. "And here I thought I was the oldest."

"Don't be silly," Molly said. "Even if you would be older than Albus I would still say the exact same thing."

Harry noticed the small twitch of Morin's eyebrow and stifled a giggle. The Black certainly looked funny when annoyed. With a wave of goodbye, Draco followed the man through the fireplace to Snape's home.

"Harry did you see how his robe billowed?" Ron asked. "Just like professor Snape."

"Yeah," Harry said.

"Who copied who?"

"Who cares? Some chess?"

-

Draco got out through the fireplace at Snape's Manor and saw Morin had already collapsed into a comfy couch. The Black was almost asleep. Draco got up a comforter from another couch and spread it over Morin. He pulled off the older man's boots and gently took them to the front door. Snape came walking and said:

"You're back early."

"Morin is resting," Draco said. "I don't think he's feeling too good."

Snape handed him the potion he was holding and said:

"Take that to my room and then fetch your broom."

Draco nodded and went upstairs. The potions master, the younger of the two currently living in Snape's Manor (A/N The other is indeed Morin, but he's not trying to steal Snape's place), walked into the living room and chuckled as Morin tried to glare at him.

"I just need a short nap," the older man said.

"You need to sleep in a real bed for at least ten hours," Snape said and gently hauled him up. "And you're not going to complain."

Inwardly, Snape cursed on whatever Morin was doing. The man always came back tired and lifeless. Morin hardly put up a fight as he was lead upstairs and pushed into his bed. Instead he curled up and sighed.

"Do you have any Basilisk poison?" he groggily asked the potions master.

"No," Snape said. "Why?"

"Damn," he muttered but then waved his hand absently. "I just need it for a thing, don't worry."

"What kind of thing?" Snape asked, now suddenly in front of Morin's face.

"Just… something," Morin mumbled and then he was asleep.

-

Harry got a tight hug from Mrs. Weasley just before they jumped up on the train that would take them back to Hogwarts. George had recovered quite well but was still not let out of sight from his brother. Fred had grown overprotective over his twin and made sure he always was there when George needed it. Ginny ran off to her friends, waving to them. Percy looked still way too tired, but still managed to be surprised when the twins gave him a quick hug each before jumping on the train. The golden trio jumped on as well, and waved to Molly and her three oldest children.

They got a compartment for themselves and settled in. Harry was reading the fourth year potions book, much to Ron's dismay. The redhead did not really want to think about it. Hermione was, however, thrilled over that someone actually wanted to study.

"Hey, who do you reckon is gonna be the new DADA teacher?" Ron said when they had just bought some sweets and moved to sit again.

"Dunno", Harry said as he chewed on a Chocolate Frog. "Hopefully someone as good as professor Lupin."

"Yeah", Hermione mumbled. "Wonder if the new one is going to last more than one year?"

They talked back and forth about their previous DADA teachers; Quirrel who had Voldemort stuck like a parasite. Not a repeating of that one, thank you very much. Lockhart? Not until Hell freezes over. Lupin? Yes, they all agreed on that one. He was the only one who had actually taught them something. But knowing the position, they knew only an idiot like Gilderoy Lockhart would probably volunteer. Harry and Hermione looked up at Ron, who was deep in thought.

"If we get someone like Lockhart again," Ron suddenly muttered, "kill me."

Their laughs echoed in the compartment.

-

Hogwarts looked magnificent as usual and Harry felt his heart swell when he came inside. He was home.

They moved to sit at the Gryffindor table where the Weasley twins were. Harry peered up at the Head table but was disappointed.

"The seat for the DADA teacher is empty," he said.

"Maybe Dumbledore didn't find anyone?" Ron said.

The first-years suddenly emerged, walking behind McGonagall. The Sorting Hat sang its song and it was time for the sorting. Harry was only listening with one ear.

As everyone was seated, Albus rose up with a smile on his face.

"Everyone…" he said and paused. They waited. "Enjoy the feast." Then he sat down again, and clapped his hands together once.

"About time," Ron muttered as food appeared.

"Ronald!"

Harry shook his head as his two friends began to argue and began to eat.

When they all had eaten the Headmaster rose once again.

"Now I know you are all tired and wants to go to bed but I have a few news for you," he said. "First of all, we have a new DADA teacher but he will arrive in a few days. Until then, you all have free time on the DADA classes. And then Hogwarts has the honour to have the Tri-Wizard Tournament this year."

Exited mumbled broke out in the hall. Harry was confused though.

"For a long time the tournament was not allowed since it was too many risks in it," Dumbledore said, "but now the Ministry has allowed having it once again. This event will start in October and continue for the rest of the year. That means there will be no Quidditch this year."

You could hear moans from the Quidditch teams and Dumbledore held up one hand.

"The other schools that will compete in this tournament are Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. And I will warn you now, that because of the risks, no one under seventeen is allowed to compete."

Now there were several protests and screaming.

"Man, I would love to compete," Ron moaned.

"Didn't you hear?" Hermione said. "I've read about the tournament. The risks of dying are apparently still high the younger you are. Setting an age line was a wise decision. What do you think Harry?"

"I don't know," the raven-haired teen said and looked at the bushy-haired girl. "I just know I got enough of dangers and adventures. I was kinda hoping for a normal year."

"Now all of you, off to bed!" the Headmaster finished cheerfully and the scraping of stools was overwhelming for a short while.

The trio went towards the Gryffindor Tower. Fred and George, who normally would have wanted to join in and struck chaos, was oddly silent. George was leaned slightly on his twin, and Fred had a good grip on him.

"He's still not fully healed?" Hermione whispered to Ron.

"No," the redhead answered. "He's having nightmares about it."

"Not nice," Harry mumbled, fully knowing how much nightmares could freak you out.

Dumbledore sat by the table as he watched the students go to their dormitories. Snape leaned over and said:

"Why didn't you tell them who the DADA teacher was?"

"I wanted it to be a surprise," Dumbledore said with a smile.

The potions master looked at the headmaster for a long time before shrugging it off and stalking to the Slytherin dorms where he would meet the first-years. Dumbledore chuckled and looked at the last students.

"This looks like it's going to be a very interesting year," he said with a smile at a shadow near his chair, "don't you think, Morin?"

The shadows changed until Morin Black stood next to the headmaster.

"So," the younger of the two drawled out. "Let the game begin."

Tbc…

* * *

**EDITED 2010-01-11**

Next chapter: the first weeks until the other students comes I guess. I'm sure you have already guessed what Morin is doing at Hogwarts and therefore there will be a lot of him and a lot of the trio in the next chapter.

Until later,

Ja,

Tiro


	4. Ch 3: The DADA teacher

**Reverse of a Dark Future**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Harry Potter, JK Rowling does. She is a wonderful author and I love her Harry Potter books. I do not own any of the persons in this fic **except** for Morin Black. He's mine, I created him!

**Spoilers**: Um, book four and five. Only a bit though in the fourth book, and book five does not happen in this fic except that I mention some things and some creatures you should be aware about. Good if you have read up to book five. Book six or seven does not happen at all.

It's not spoilers, but I will warn you that all of the characters will be a bit different. The most major ones are Snape, Draco, the Weasley twins, Percy and Voldemort. Oh, and Harry will be a bit different, and I warn you it will be a bit mental abuse from the Dursleys directed to our little Harry.

And beware, because I am an evil girl and I have changed Voldemort's past!

Not everything will center on Harry, but most of the time it will together with Morin. Morin is involved in Harry's whole life and they will get close to each other. But some parts will be all Morin, but I will not make this fic so it will only be about Morin, don't worry.

**Pairings**: Slight pairing between Morin and Voldemort.

-

**EDITED 2010-01-11**

-

**Chapter Three: The DADA teacher**

Harry woke up early the morning after and just laid for a while smiling. He was home, he was back again and he felt great. Rising up from the bed, the teen dressed in a hurry. It was still a bit too early, but he was hungry and the Great Hall should be open.

The hall was open but was very, very empty. Though it came up food when Harry sat down. He shrugged and grabbed a toast. He only looked up when a person seated himself on the opposite side of the teen. He looked into Draco's gray eyes before the blonde poured a cup of tea.

"Morning," Harry offered.

"Morning," Draco answered. "I never knew I was going to feel this way."

"Feel what way?"

"That I don't want to be in the Slytherins common room or in my dorm," the blonde said. "It doesn't feel right."

"But you are a Slytherin," Harry pointed out.

"Yeah, but it has changed," Draco murmured. "I… I don't want to be there that's all."

They looked up at each other for a while and then Harry said:

"We'll work it out."

If Draco sitting down at the Gryffindor table was a surprise, Harry almost had a heart attack when Snape followed the blonde's example. The greasy professor sat down next to Draco and yawned behind his hand. He grabbed a tea pot and nodded shortly to the both boys. Even Draco was staring.

"What?" he finally snarled at the two of them.

"Sev… are you feeling alright?" the blonde said.

"Yes, I'm perfectly fine, why?"

"You're sitting at the Gryffindor table, sir", Harry slowly said.

"… I'm well aware of that Mr. Potter, do you want to point out something else as equally obvious?"

Harry looked at him oddly and then just returned to his breakfast. Snape quirked an eyebrow and then returned to his toast and tea.

Just as Harry heard others coming, the two others rose up.

"See you around Dray," Harry said. He had started with the nickname during the break and Draco had not complained.

"After today's classes, the lake," the blonde said and Harry nodded.

"Don't get into trouble," Snape said. "And I mean both of you."

He stalked away, robes billowing. The Potter turned to look at Draco and said:

"Did he just tell us to be careful?"

"In his own strange way, yes," the blonde said. "But I'm convinced now; he's gone mental."

Harry had to stifle his laughter as Draco went to the Slytherin table and Snape for the dungeons.

-

Hermione and Ron showed up around eight, and just came in time to get their timetables by McGonagall. Ron looked at it and groaned.

"We got Potions first thing in the morning."

"At least it's not with the Slytherins," Hermione commented. "After that we have double Charms, lunch and then double Transfiguration."

"It's not too bad," Harry said.

"Easy for you to say," the redhead muttered.

George suddenly flopped down by Harry, a scowl on his face.

"Easy George," Harry said, "you almost look like professor Snape's son… just with red hair and freckles."

George whipped his head and looked at Harry strangely for a moment. Then he collapsed in giggles when he realized what the younger teen had said to him. The trio grinned at him. Fred got to them and pushed George up from a lying position to a sitting on the bench so he could sit down.

"First you're all angry and storm to the hall, and then you're laughing?" Fred said.

"I'm sorry," George said. "I just feel giddy being back. We go so many plans!"

"Yeah, from good ol' Morin," Fred said with a dreamy look. "We owe him a lot."

"Don't tell me he actually had pranks to tell," Ron said with a gasp.

"Oh, you have no idea," Fred said with a grin. "Didn't tell us who his companions were though."

Hermione sighed and got up.

"Potions are going to begin soon," she said with a matter-of-fact voice.

"Yeah yeah," Ron muttered and grabbed a last toast before following.

Harry waved to the twins and left as well.

-

The fourth year Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs had a very strange Potions class. Not only that Snape did not snap at anyone; he even gave Hermione points when she had made the day's assignment flawless. And the top of the ice-berg – no homework.

"Do you reckon he's sick?" Ron said as they walked up from the dungeons.

"Maybe he's just nice for once," Hermione said. "Everyone has a kind side."

"Not the greasy git!" the redhead said.

Harry was silent. Snape. What had happened? He had eaten breakfast with him and Draco. He had even told Harry, the Golden Boy, to be careful. Either Snape had a change of mind, or he had gone mental. Harry seriously believed the latter.

-

The day seemed to fly past and soon the last class ended. Ron and Hermione were arguing and did not notice Harry slip out. He almost ran to the lake, where Draco already was.

"Hi," the raven-haired panted. "Did you wait long?"

"Just got here myself," the blonde said.

Harry took a seat and relaxed.

"Professor Snape didn't take any point from us", the Gryffindor finally said.

"He actually removed points from Slytherin," Draco responded.

They looked at each other.

"He's gone mental right?" Harry said.

"Can't find another explanation."

"Explanation for what?"

They whipped around to look at the feared potions professor. However, he did not look so scary now. He had not his normally black robe on him right now. Instead he was dressed in a white shirt with his normal trousers on. He raised an eyebrow at the two gaping boys.

"You're being too nice Sev," Draco deadpanned. "And you look strange in white."

"Am I?" Snape asked and his eyebrow twitched at the clothing remark.

"Hey, that looked just like Morin," Harry said with a laugh. "The way he twitched his eyebrow, right Dray?"

"Spot on, Har," the blonde answered. "Are you copying each other Sev?"

"What?!"

The two of them laughed at the potions master's outburst. Snape slumped his shoulders and flopped down, in a much undignified way, on the ground and sighed.

"You two are impossible. Almost as annoying as the Weasley twins."

"What?!" they both shouted.

-

Harry went into the hall and sat down by Ron and Hermione.

"Where were you?" Ron said.

"By the lake," he answered with a shrug before putting food on his plate.

"The lake?" Hermione said.

"Yeah. I wanted to relax for a little while. Sorry I didn't tell you; I'll do that next time."

The two of them looked at Harry, not believing him but could not argue. The teen looked up and noticed that Snape was sliding in from a back door, now dressed in his billowing black robe. His appearance was scary as usual but was broken by that little smile still grazing his lips.

Harry was lost in thoughts as he recalled the scene only about an hour earlier. Draco and he had shouted at Snape and then, very stupidly, jumped on the professor. Having a wrestle fight with the potions master and the perfect Slytherin Draco was not something he could tell his friends. They would declare him mental as well.

-

Harry was on his way to the common room when he heard a sound. Recognizing it as sobbing, he quickly turned from his path, following the sound. He looked at his watch and winced; soon curfew. He did not want to get into trouble on his first day back at Hogwarts.

He rounded a corridor and came to a full stop. The sobbing figure was sitting not far from him now. Knees drawn up to his chest, and arms wrapped around them. Wild and fierce red hair. Harry saw the bag next to the Weasley and read the name.

"George?" he said and the said young man whipped his head up.

"H-hi Harry," George weakly said with tears still running down his cheeks.

"What's wrong?" Harry said and dropped down next to the Weasley.

"Morin said the after-effects of Crucio when held longer than four minutes are severe," George began to explain and sniffed. "Takes longer to recover and you get easily flooded by your emotions."

"How long was… it on you?" Harry could not bring himself to say Crucio.

"Five minutes I think."

George tried to control his tears but they kept coming. Harry suddenly wrapped his arms around the older teen and said:

"Cry out. Maybe you'll feel better when you've run out of tears."

The Weasley broke down at those words and cried hysterically, gripping onto Harry's robe. Harry turned his head when he heard footsteps. McGonagall came walking but stopped as she saw them.

"What's wrong?" she said, walking swiftly up to them with concern laced in her eyes.

"George's accident this summer, have you heard about it professor?"

By the look of utter hate that crossed her face, Harry concluded she had.

"It's the after-effects," he continued.

McGonagall gently placed a hand on George's shoulder and he looked up.

"Would you like a Dreamless Potion tonight?" she asked.

"Ye-Yeah," he whispered.

"Let's go then," Minerva said. "Poppy might have one; otherwise she'll just floo Severus and ask him."

Harry got George's bag, swung it over his shoulder before helping the older teen up. McGonagall steadied the redhead and they walked to the Infirmary.

"Poppy?" the witch called out.

Madam Pomfrey came almost immediately.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Mr. Weasley would like a Dreamless Potion Poppy," Minerva said.

Poppy, already knowing what had happened to George earlier that summer, only nodded and fetched a bottle.

"George?" she asked gently and he looked up on her. "This will last all night, and a part of the morning. You can be excused to the classes before lunch, okay?"

He nodded and she gave him the bottle.

"If you still sleep bad," the medic-witch continued, "go to Severus. He has a number of potions that should help you a bit until you can sleep on your own."

"Now go to bed," Minerva gently ushered them. "If you meet any teachers, you have my permission."

"Thank you professor, Madam Pomfrey," Harry said. "Let's go George."

They made their way to the tower without meeting any teacher. Harry said the password, and the Fat Lady swung open the door into Gryffindor common room.

"George!"

Fred leapt up from his place on the couch, and his twin smiled feebly.

"Hi Fred. Thanks Harry."

"No problem," the Potter said.

George took his bag from Harry and Fred immediately came forth. Instead of saying anything Fred just draped one of George's arms around his shoulder and mouthed a 'Thanks' to Harry as well before leading his brother to their dorm.

"What happened?" Ron said.

"It's up to George to tell," Harry said.

Ron bit his lip but did not speak further. Hermione was gazing through her potions book, reading for their next class. Even though it was three days away. Harry sat down and dragged out his Charms book. They had gotten homework and the teen had decided to study more this year, so he had right after dinner more or less run to the library to do it. He had almost finished by the time for curfew.

Ron looked at his parchment and said:

"You're almost done?!"

"Yeah," Harry said as he fumbled around in his notes. "Thought I would try improving my grades a bit this year."

Hermione beamed and Harry grinned to her.

"You're rubbing off on me," he said and she stuck out her tongue in a playful manner.

-

Fred helped George lie down on his bed and carefully put the bottle nearby.

"Need help undress?" he asked his twin.

George fumbled with his robe and shook his head a bit. Fred then walked over to his bed for a moment and changed into pyjama.

"Fred?"

He turned to look at George and rose an eyebrow in a silent 'What?' but George did not speak. Instead he patted on the bed. Fred sat down just by his brother and said:

"What is it, Georgie?"

"Don't call me that," the other one said and playfully swatted at Fred who laughed. "Gred."

"Forge."

"I'm tired."

"I know you are," Fred said. "Drink the potion and have a very good night."

"Stay with me."

Fred looked at his brother for a while. Then he reached over and grabbed the bottle. He laid down and pulled George closer.

"Here," he said and gave his brother the bottle. "I'll stay until you're sound asleep, I promise."

-

Harry woke up the next day at a very ungodly time and tossed around for a bit. Then he sighed and got up. He tip-toed to the common room and sat by the hearth where it was warm. He was vaguely aware that someone came down as well but was a bit too tired to care.

"Harry?"

He turned his head and looked at…

"Fred?" he asked.

"Yep," the redhead answered and plopped down in a cushy armchair just behind Harry. "What are you doing here?"

"Could ask you the same thing."

"Couldn't sleep, and you?"

"Me neither," the smaller boy said.

Fred sighed and looked at his watch.

"Another forty-five minutes before the hall opens. Want to play some chess?"

Harry shrugged and got up. Maybe it could wake him up a bit.

-

Harry and Fred went into the hall and sat down by the Gryffindor table. Draco came in and looked around. Since it was empty he sat down by them. Fred stared at him.

"What?" the blonde said.

"I think I'm going mental," the redhead said. "You're sitting with Gryffindors. By the Gryffindor table."

"If that's a surprise," Draco said, "then me and Har got a heart attack yesterday."

"What do you mean?" Fred asked with a tilted head.

"A certain man sat with us," Harry said with a snicker.

"Who?"

At the same moment, Snape sat down by their place… again. This time he looked beyond tired. Fred was gaping.

"He did," Draco said to the Weasley and pointed at the potions master.

Fred's eyes widened.

"What did I do?" Snape said to the blonde.

"You sat here yesterday," Draco said with a shrug.

"Yes I did," the professor said, "so what?"

Fred almost fell off bench and the two younger ones laughed. Snape glared at them, but it was not very effective.

"Have you had your fun now?" he snarled a while later.

"We couldn't help it," Draco said. "His face when we said it… it was hilarious!"

He began to laugh again and Snape raised an eyebrow. Harry was giggling behind his hand while Fred picked himself up. Just as he got up, Snape only smiled towards the blonde and shook his head in amusement. Just the sight made the Weasley actually drop on the floor. Harry bent down hurriedly to help him up whilst Draco collapsed in hysterical giggles and Snape was left sighing in misery at the sight.

-

The day past as in a rush, and before Harry knew it he was going to the Great hall to eat dinner. Hermione and Ron had begun arguing again and were lagging behind. He turned around and said:

"I'm leaving you behind if you don't hurry up!"

"What?!" Ron said. "Don't leave me behind mate!"

"Ronald!"

The redhead almost ran to catch up with the smaller teen and Harry laughed at them. Hermione stalked up to them and said:

"We'll discuss this later Ron."

"Why does it sound like I'm not gonna like it?" Ron asked.

"Maybe because you won't!"

Harry grinned at the two of them and entered the hall. He sat down next to Neville and said:

"Hi Nev."

"Hi Harry," the boy answered with a smile. "Ron and Hermione are at it again?"

"When aren't they?" Harry said. "Still no sign of the DADA teacher?"

"Nope," Neville said. "Maybe tomorrow."

"What days to we have DADA again?"

"We should have had today and then last class on Friday."

"Okay," Harry said. "I thought relaxing today on that class, but 'Mione made me take a quiz on Charms."

"She's quite into studying," the other boy remarked.

"Yeah. I would have failed last year without her," the raven-haired boy said. "Man, she really saves the day."

"Or rather your grades," Neville said with a giggle.

Harry agreed and stretched to get some potatoes.

-

Harry had never had such a fast first week at Hogwarts. It was already Friday and the teen was going to the Great hall with his friends to eat breakfast. George had been doing much better after Monday and was now cheerfully talking to his twin and Lee. They entered the hall and Harry automatically looked at the Head Table for any signs of the new mysterious DADA teacher. Today the seat was not empty. He stopped, frozen, as he saw who it was. Hermione stopped and looked at him.

"Harry?" she asked.

"Take a look at our new DADA teacher," he said with a wide grin.

Hermione turned her head as well did the Weasleys, Lee and Neville. Hermione and the Weasleys gasped.

Morin was currently talking to Flitwick, dressed in his usual dark clothes, today consisting of a dark green robe with high neck, sliver-chains fastened to the robe around where his collarbones would have started, a broach of a snake with emerald eyes on the chain. His pale face had gotten some colour, his smile was easy and locks of black hair framed his face while the other was up in a ponytail.

"Morin?" George finally said.

"He's gonna be our teacher?" Fred said. "Wicked!"

"How do you know him?" Neville said.

"We met him during the summer break," Hermione said. "I didn't know he could teach."

"Maybe he's like Lockhart?" Lee said.

"He's the total opposite," the twins said simultaneously.

"And he's the one who told you a lot of pranks," Hermione said with a huff. "Wonder how good he'll be."

"We'll find out today," Harry said. "He has our last class."

"We don't have him until Monday!" the twins whined.

-

Harry was feeling kind of giddy as they went to the DADA classroom. They had the class with fourth year Ravenclaws; Harry was very happy about it. They only had Charms together with the Slytherins; the rest of classes he was free from them. Though he was a bit worried how Draco was coping. He had seen the blonde in company of Blaise Zabini and Pansy Parkinson but the other Slytherins seemed to have backed off. The two of them had stubbornly remained with Draco, and Harry felt an enormous gratitude to them.

They entered the classroom and the trio sat by one of the front desks. Most of the students were talking but the three of them was a bit too nervous for that. How would Morin actually act in a classroom? They had seen that he shifted mood faster than anything else, and Harry actually caught himself being a little scared. What if he was like Snape had been? The man was a Slytherin after all.

The door opened and they all turned. Morin walked up to the front and turned to them. He tilted his head the smallest bit and looked over them all. He said:

"Good afternoon. My name is Morin Black and I am your newest teacher in Defence Against the Dark Arts. I will call your name and kindly answer if you are here so I can learn to place a face to a name."

He took up the list, leaned against the desk instead of sitting down and began. Harry was slowly beginning to relax. The older man had a gentle aura around him that made all of them relax.

When Morin had finished he put away the list and said:

"I heard from the Headmaster that you've had quite some misfortunes with the earlier teachers. The first year you had a teacher who was too afraid and the second a man who looked for fame only. Last year you had a good teacher, right?"

They all nodded.

"He taught about the creatures you could encounter," Morin said as he looked down on his papers. "But it seems you lack some knowledge in curses."

The trio looked at each other. That was true. Neville looked nervously at the Black; obviously he looked too much like the potions master for the poor boy's taste.

"Well, might as well begin," Morin said. "We'll begin with the three most dangerous ones, the Unforgivables."

Neville stiffened a bit and Harry shot a glance at him.

"Who knows anyone of them?" the older man continued.

To Harry's surprise, Ron's hand lifted amongst the others. Morin looked around for a bit and settled on Ron.

"Yes Mr. Weasley?" he said.

"My dad works at the Ministry and he's mentioned the Imperius."

Morin nodded and crossed his arms, thinking for a little bit before starting:

"The Imperius curse caused the Ministry a lot of troubles in the wars. Especially in last war we have encountered." Here, Harry knew Morin was talking about when Voldemort ruled and terrorized. "Many people were put under the spell and had to do things they didn't want to. You can't know when a person is under Imperius unless you look them in the eyes."

"How can you see if they're under the curse by looking into their eyes?" a Ravenclaw boy said.

"Their eyes are emptied of life," Morin stated. "Just a blank stare. That's the only sign you can see, unless they are fighting against the curse. Then they can develop a paranoia-appearance when they temporary release themselves from it."

"Have you seen it yourself, sir?" Seamus asked.

Morin took a look at him and nodded.

"I was an Auror in the war for a while," he explained, "and has therefore seen a lot. The people under Imperius are not a pretty sight at some times. I think your book have a better description on its effects than me. What about the other Unforgivables?"

Neville held up a hand, and it was slightly shaking. Morin motioned for him to speak and the teen said quietly:

"The Cruciatus curse sir."

"You are…" he began but stopped. "Never mind. The Cruciatus curse. One of the most painful curses through time. It is said if you are under the spell for more than ten minutes, you will become insane for life, loose everything you knew. You would never be able to recognize anyone ever again. You wouldn't even know who you were."

Almost everyone stared. Neville seemed to shake a bit more and Harry squeezed his shoulder.

"You alright?" he quietly asked.

"Yes," Neville whispered.

"The Cruciatus was used very often in the war and was a favourite curse for many of You-Know-Who's followers," Morin continued. "Under some conditions, the curse can even kill you because of the nerve-damage. That is why it's been labelled one of the most dangerous curses."

He seemed to look lost in thoughts, and then snapped out of it.

"And the final one?" His voice echoed in the silence of the classroom.

Hermione's hand rose alone in the classroom.

"Yes, Miss Granger?"

"Avada Kedavra," she whispered. No one said a word.

The man looked far away for a moment. There was not even a movement in the room.

"Avada Kedavra", he finally said, "the infamous killing curse. It kills the person in an instant, leaving no mark on them whatsoever, and so far there has only been one who has survived it. He's sitting in this classroom right now."

They all turned to look at Harry. He stared into Morin's identical green eyes and saw suddenly his mother in those eyes. Why…? Why did Morin's eyes remind him about his mother? Was it because now he knew how his parents had died? Just like that?

"The killing curse," the Black said, starling everyone, "needs a lot of powerful magic to work. You probably could all throw it at me and I doubt I would get little more than a nose-bleed. But I'm not here to teach you the curses; I'm here to teach you how to defend yourselves. Now, turn up page 150, chapter six, in your textbooks…"

They spent the rest of the lesson writing down about the three curses. When the class ended, they began to file out the door. The Gryffindors immediately began to speak how awesome he was. The Ravenclaws even began doing the same. Harry noted that Neville was a bit pale.

"Nev?" he said. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"Mr. Longbottom?"

Neville turned to look into Morin's deep eyes. The older man smiled and said:

"Would you mind staying a bit?"

Neville shrugged and said to Harry:

"See you later."

"Don't get into trouble," Harry said, pointing his finger at him.

"Oh, rest assured, Mr Potter," Morin said. "It's he who must make sure I don't get in to trouble, as Molly seems to think I always end up in."

The two chuckled at him before Harry waved and raced after Ron.

-

Harry looked surprised when Neville sat down later with a smile.

"Okay, what happened to you?" he asked.

"Professor Black just wanted to speak a bit," Neville said. "He had seen me tense up during class and I kinda had to admit I didn't like hearing about the curses."

"I didn't either," Harry said. "I feel really sorry for those who had the Cruciatus on them."

Neville shuddered and nodded.

"So professor Black put you on other thoughts?" the teen continued.

"More or less," Neville said and then blushed a bit.

"What?" Harry said with a smile.

"He had spoken to professor Sprout yesterday when he had come, and she had apparently spoken highly about me," the clumsy teen said. "He said he had a book that might interest me."

"Oooh, what kind of book?" Harry said excitedly as he took a bite of his chicken before turning back to the teen next to him.

Neville picked it up from his bag and showed the slightly smaller teen.

"All you can learn about underwater plants," Neville said proudly. "He quizzed me, and I knew a bit."

"That's great Neville," Hermione said, who had apparently listened. "Did he treat you nice?"

"We're talking about a teacher 'Mione!" Ron said. "Of course he has to be nice."

"I mean how he was like when you compare the other teachers?" she asked. "Professor McGonagall, professor Snape or the others?"

"He was a bit like professor Sprout," Neville said with relief. "Very nice and he listened when I started rambling about a particular plant. He just smiled and encouraged me to continue talking about the plants when I asked if I was a bother."

Hermione beamed at him. It was not often Neville would get attention from any teachers.

"He… he even praised me when I could answer on things he didn't know," Neville said with a slight blush.

"That's even better mate!" Ron cut in. "Seems like he's a real nice guy."

Neville smiled again and put down the book carefully into his bag again. Harry looked up at the Head Table and saw Morin. He seemed lost in thoughts and was absently picking on his food. The potions master gave him a careful jab and Morin's head snapped up. Snape smirked at the older man who only smiled in return. The Black took his goblet when their eyes met.

Innocent green against deep green. Harry felt like time stopped for a moment. The eyes looked so ancient; even more ancient than the Headmaster's, who had to be at least over hundred years old. Pain and age was present in those eyes. Then something twisted, and he was dragged in for a moment, in what Morin saw.

First of all, this was not in the Great hall from Harry's time anymore. Instead this one looked different. Not that hall itself, but the people, those two wore Muggle clothes anyway. The clothes looked to be popular… fifty years ago anyway, if he remembered right from the books he had read before coming to Hogwarts.

Harry found himself looking at a handsome young man, maybe just two years older than him. He was dressed in a black shirt and black trousers that made his already pale skin look almost white like a porcelain doll. He had a golden earring in his left ear and an earring looking like a snake in his right. His raven hair reached to his waist and was put up in a loose ponytail. He was coming walking from the Head table and Harry stared into those eyes. The age was gone but not the pain. It was Morin.

"Harry?"

Harry snapped his head around and looked into the concerned eyes of Hermione.

"What?" he asked, bewildered.

"You were staring at something," she said and both Ron and Neville were eyeing him carefully.

"I was lost in thoughts," he said and turned back to the Head table.

Morin was still looking at him, looking as surprised as Harry felt. Then he blinked, and turned his head as Snape asked him something.

"Lost in thoughts?" Ron said.

"Yeah," he answered and turned back. "Is it only me, or does professor Black's eyes look like mine?"

"Now that you mention it," Neville said thoughtfully. "I caught myself a few times thinking they were identical to yours."

"Yeah," Ron said. "Coincidence?"

"Probably", Harry said, but still found it strange.

-

Later that evening Harry was trying to do his Potion essay. Snape had apparently recovered a bit from their first time, since he did give them homework. But he still had not snapped at them as he usually did. And he actually gave the raven-haired a compliment. That was a shocking experience in itself, and it had nearly making the teen choke on his own breath. Harry rubbed his forehead and sighed. Neville looked up from his book and said:

"You've been sighing for a long time now."

"Yeah I know. I just can't shake off the odd feeling Snape's giving me."

"You too?"

"What? Did he do something strange?" the smaller boy said.

"He helped me in Potions yesterday," Neville said. "I thought I was going to have a heart attack."

"It's not very nice by him, scaring us like this," Harry groaned.

"I prefer this way than the other though."

"Yeah, me too."

-

Morin was walking down the halls after dinner, cursing softly in every language he knew. How he had managed to drag Harry into an old memory of his was a mystery, and he had to take precaution to not let that happen again. He stretched a bit and decided to turn in early. The classes today had been a little bad. Talking so freely about Cruciatus; he was amazed even himself.

But he had seen Neville. How he had tensed up. Morin hated when children was in pain and decided to cheer the boy up a bit after class. Sure, he did give Neville that book and quizzed him. He listened when the boy got exited. But he had also done what most people would not. He had told Neville about Frank and Alice Longbottom. Neville's parents. The boy had been surprised but then very happy. The Black figured not many people spoke of his parents in front of him.

"Lost in thoughts Morin?"

The man turned around to look at the speaker.

"Evening Albus," he spoke quietly.

"Did it go well, your first classes?" the old wizard asked.

"Yes quite," Morin replied. "I thought it would go worse but it went along just nicely."

The older man nodded and said:

"Want to join me in the office? Severus mentioned you needed some Basilisk poison." An eyebrow was lifted at this.

"Yes, I almost forgot about that," the Black said. "And now I realize I need it soon."

Albus turned to walk to his office, and Morin walked behind him. No one of them noticed Hermione who had heard them talk. She looked confused and watched after them. She then hurried towards the Gryffindor Tower; she needed to speak to Ron and Harry about it.

-

"Basilisk poison? You sure?" Harry said.

"A hundred percent," she answered. "He also seemed to need it soon."

"What for?" Ron said.

They were sitting in a corner of the common room, where no one bothered them. Neville had gone up to the forth year's dorm and the twins were busy with something in the other corner.

"I don't know," Hermione as she flipped the pages in a book. "I've tried to find what you use Basilisk poison for but I haven't found anything."

Harry looked at the wall. Basilisk poison. The poison had nearly killed him in his second year.

"Um…" Ron hawked.

"Yes?" Hermione said.

"Do you reckon it's for killing someone?" the redhead blurted out.

"He's a teacher!" the bushy-haired girl said harshly.

Ron and Harry stared at her; being a teacher had not stopped Quirrel from trying to kill Harry, and those in his way.

"And if he did need it," Hermione snapped, "why speak so carelessly about it in a school? Basilisk poison is easy to detect and not a good poison if you want to kill someone in secret."

"Destroying," Harry suddenly muttered.

"What?" both of them said.

"Maybe he wants to destroy something?" the smaller boy said. "The poison destroyed Riddle's diary. Maybe professor Black needs it to destroy something so that it can never be used again?"

"That's a possibility," Hermione said. "A reasonable possibility, but what could he want to destroy that badly?"

"A lot of evil items exist in this world," Harry reminded. "And he did say he was an Auror before. Maybe some work for the Ministry?"

"But why not ask them?" the girl said. "They could've searched as well."

They all looked at each other for a while. Harry sighed; it seemed like a normal year was out of the question.

-

Harry laid in his bed on Saturday morning. He was still tired, but not tired enough to drop back to sleep. He looked at his clock and it read six-thirty. Breakfast was not until an hour. He sighed and rolled into a small ball underneath the covers. He closed his eyes and then snapped them up. He had seen Morin's face again.

"Why?" he whispered. "Why do you remind me of mum? I don't remember her, and yet…"

Only silence answered him.

-

Harry was not too surprised when Draco and Snape joined him at breakfast again. The potions master had changed a lot since last year. Harry did not know why or how, only knew he preferred this man than the professor he had known the last three years. This time was a bit different though. Snape looked up and said:

"Good morning Morin. Decided to join us?"

Harry looked up and saw Morin striding along the table. He was dressed in a deep-green, almost black, robe and his hair had been quickly put up in a ponytail. He just nodded and sat down carefully. He only drank a cup of tea though. The potions master frowned and said:

"Your eating habits are no good, Morin. You'll starve yourself to death."

"I never eat very much to breakfast I'm afraid," the older man said. "I'm used to it by now."

Harry looked at his teacher and frowned as well. Now he noticed how skinny the older man seemed to be. His fingers were a bit too bony and his eyes a bit too sunken into his skull. But he still radiated an aura of beauty around him. The teen had noticed many girls had stared at the man last night during dinner.

Snape's sigh brought him back to the hall and he continued with his toast. Draco looked at him oddly for a little while, but Harry shrugged at the blonde and did not meet his eyes.

"What plans do you boys have today?" Snape asked after a while.

"Dunno," Draco said.

"Homework I guess," Harry said. "I haven't finished the Potions essay and I'm not really done with Transfiguration."

"You study first of all on a weekend?" Draco said in chock.

"I don't want to repeat last year," Harry muttered. "And the sooner I'm done, the more free time to relax."

"Finally a Gryffindor except for Miss Granger with some sense," the potions master muttered.

Morin looked at the three of them and then felt a small tingle in his right arm. He tried not to rub it as the tingle turned into pain. He clenched his jaw and narrowed his eyes as he looked down on his tea.

"Morin?" Draco said. "Morin, what's wrong?"

The older man whipped his head up, and for a moment you saw the pain clearly in his eyes. Then it faded away and he said:

"I must have slept strange last night, since my back continues to bugger me."

"Maybe it's just old age," the potions professor could not help but add.

"Severus!"

The two boys laughed at that and Morin glared at the potions master, who barely managed keeping his grin inside.

-

Harry hurried up to the Tower, up to his dormitory and grabbed his school bag. He made sure the unfinished Potions essay was there and then ran out before anyone woke up to his thrashing. He looked at his watch as he reached the dungeons. New record.

Snape was already there waiting with Draco; the two of them had begun discussing some potion ingredient.

"That was fast!" the blonde exclaimed at the teen as he entered the classroom.

"I ran," Harry answered.

Snape only shook his head and said:

"Sit down here, and begin. Ask me if anyone of you need help."

Harry was a bit surprised how he spent his Saturday morning; in the dungeons with two Slytherins. Not that he really minded. Snape was sitting and reading a book while Draco tried to complete his essay as well. Harry looked over his work after a while, and found himself thinking he had done a pretty good work.

Snape looked up and saw him reading through.

"Finished Harry?" he asked.

"Yeah," the raven-haired said absently, not noticing that the potions master had called him by his first name.

"Can I take a look at it?" the man said and rose up.

"If you want to," Harry said. "My writing isn't the best but you've lived with it for three years."

"Maybe you should learn how to really write with a quill," Snape said and took the parchment.

"And who would teach me?" the teen muttered under his breath.

The potions master heard the comment, but said nothing. He went back to his desk and began reading. It was a simple essay he had given; all Fourth years had been given the task to write everything they could find on the potion Dreamless Potion. Everything from facts to silly rumours.

"Sir?" Harry said.

"Yes?"

"Were you bored when you gave us the assignment?"

Snape looked up and looked at the teen who shrugged and continued:

"It sounded a bit too easy. And that we could include rumours just made me believe you were bored out of your mind and wanted us to humour you… sir."

The potions master looked down on his lap and soon the boys noticed his shoulders were shaking.

"Sev?" Draco asked worriedly.

Suddenly, the feared potions professor… broke into laughter. Not a quiet one as he usually had, but a laughter that echoed through the classroom. The two boys looked at each other and then stared wide-eyed at their professor. He leaned forward and let his elbow rest on the desk, leaning his head into his hand as he continued to chuckle.

"You okay Sev?" the blonde asked.

He waved his hand as he seemed to calm down.

"Well…" Harry said. "That answered my question."

"And was answer did I give?" Snape said with a wide smile.

"That you were bored out of your mind," the teen declared. "Sir."

Snape doubled over as he broke out in laughter once more. Harry looked at Draco who was grinning.

"Way to go Har," he said. "Not even I have been able to do that to Sev."

Snape finally stood up and hawked a bit. He was still wearing a bit of a silly grin though.

"You nailed me Mr. Potter," he said. "And your essay was quite good, even though some parts were difficult to… see."

"I got a bad writing, just say it!" Harry said and threw his arms up in the air.

"I think Morin could help you," the potions master said.

"Professor Black?" Harry said.

"Yes," Snape said thoughtfully. "I can ask him if you like."

"Really?" Harry beamed.

Snape nodded and said:

"I'll keep your essay, so you won't loose it."

"Alright," Harry said. "Now I just need to finish Transfiguration."

"Lucky you," Draco muttered.

-

"Teaching Harry to write with a quill?" Morin said, confused.

"Yes, he needs to learn it and no one bothered to teach him before," Snape said and started pacing. "I'm not really used to him so…"

"Neither am I Severus," the Black said with mild curiosity as he watched his colleague pace in front of his desk.

"At least you didn't insult him for three years!" the potions master burst out. "He doesn't seem to mind though…"

"If you want, I can teach him," Morin said. "But don't put a barrier between him and you if you two get along."

"I just need some time," Snape said. "He's beginning to relax in my presence but I don't want to rush it."

Morin smiled at the younger man who seemed relieved and sat down in front of the desk.

"Did you speak to Albus about the Basilisk poison?" the potions professor suddenly said.

"Yes, he said there was a corpse of a Basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets," Morin answered, apparently satisfied to have a Basilisk corpse nearby.

Once again, Snape wondered why the hell the man seemed so happy about some things. Especially when some things included something dead.

"And? Do you plan going there?"

"Actually, I was going there tonight," the man answered. "Care to join me?"

The younger man looked at Morin as if he were crazy.

"You like to rush don't you?" Snape finally answered.

"Not everything," Morin said. "Some things you can't rush, but I am in a hurry with this matter."

"You're awfully careful about not mentioning it to me," the younger professor pointed out.

"You'll live a better life without this information Severus," Morin said. "Is Harry and Draco still in your classroom?"

"Yes, they are 'tackling' Transfiguration as they so nicely put it."

"Can you tell Harry to meet me here tomorrow around two for planning his training?"

The potions master nodded and went to the fireplace.

"Morin?" Snape said.

"Yes?" the older man said, even though he was focusing on a paper.

"Tonight," he said and Morin looked up at him. "I'll come."

"Great," Morin said with a genuine smile. "How about we meet here at eight?"

Snape nodded, threw some Floo powder into the fire and disappeared.

-

Harry walked to the Great hall with Draco to eat lunch. They had finished their Transfiguration and had decided that after lunch they would take a long walk by the lake. Maybe Ron and Hermione could join them. Though Harry doubted Ron would want to walk with Draco.

Draco entered and Harry waited a few minutes before he entered. He sat down by Ron and Hermione. The bushy-haired girl was on him immediately:

"Where have you been? Do you have any idea how worried we were? And you said you were going to finish your homework this morning!"

"I've been with professor Snape and Draco," Harry answered and put food on his plate. "And I did my homework as well. Sorry to have worried you; I should've left a note, but I was in a hurry."

"You were with Snape and Draco?" Ron said. "Why?"

"Well, for starters if I needed help with Potions, professor Snape said it was okay to ask him," Harry said with a shrug. "And Draco is not that bad you know."

"You've been telling me that, but he's been nothing but a git to me," the redhead answered.

"Suit yourself," Harry snapped and turned his attention to his meal.

The bushy-haired girl looked at her friend but he more or less ignored her and Ron. He looked up at the Head Table and swept his eyes over it. Almost all the teachers were there. Snape rose an eyebrow at him, which made him stop for a little while, looked around to make sure that no one saw and then grinned at the Boy-Who-Lived. Harry could not help but grin back. Morin, who was next to the potions professor, raised his goblet slightly to Harry and smiled a tiny bit. Harry inclined his head and then turned his attention to his meal.

"Harry?" Ron asked.

"What?"

"What are you going to do later?"

"Draco wanted outside for a bit," the raven-haired teen answered. "I was going to invite you, but I see that you and Draco aren't going to be nice to each other so I won't bother you."

"I wouldn't mind," Hermione said. "I need some air as well."

Ron looked at them both. Then he said:

"Fine. I'll be there when you realize what that Slytherin really is, Harry. All Slytherins are bad."

He rose to get out form the hall when Harry stopped him.

"Do you like professor Black?" Harry asked. "Do you think he's a good teacher?"

"Yeah, why?" the Weasley said.

"Oh nothing. But you do know he's a Slytherin."

"So what?"

"You said it yourself just a moment ago; all Slytherins are bad. That means you have to hate professor Black as well."

This was said in a very soft voice and then Harry let go of Ron's robe and returned to his plate. Ron flushed but then almost ran out of the hall. Hermione looked worriedly after him.

"Don't worry 'Mione," Harry said. "He'll just need some time."

"That was pretty mean," she said.

"What? Making him swallow his own words from time to time?"

Hermione looked at Harry, but he did not look at her. He had caught Draco's attention and he raised an eyebrow and looked at the door. Draco nodded.

"Are you finished?" he asked the bushy-haired girl.

"Just about, why?"

Draco rose up and went out as she spoke. Harry let Hermione finish her meal and then got up. Draco was waiting for them at the doors.

"Granger," the blonde said.

"Draco," she said.

Harry opened the doors and they all went outside. Hermione sat down by the lake, taking out a small notebook she had and a quill with some ink.

"Ready to study anytime," Draco whispered into Harry's ear.

"She scares me sometimes."

"I do?" Hermione said with a devilish smile and they both jumped. "Hmm… I am allowed to use magic on the school grounds."

"'Mione?"

"Yeeees?"

The two boys shrieked as Hermione got up and started chasing them.

-

Snape looked on as the bushy-haired girl chased the two boys with a slight smile.

"Never underestimate woman."

The potions master turned around to see the owner of the voice. Morin stepped out in the sun next to him and continued:

"She reminds me of Anemone."

"Anemone?" the younger man said.

"An old friend," the Black said, waving a hand absently. "She was like that when she was young."

Snape did not question it further. He turned back to the three children and shook his head.

"See you later then?" Morin said as Snape moved back inside.

"Yes."

-

Harry was walking to the Gryffindor Tower around eight that night when he heard the potions professor and DADA professor. He stopped and sank into the shadows as their voices came closer.

"Morin, it's freezing cold and YOU want to go and collect Basilisk poison?"

"I didn't know it was going to be so cold, so don't complain Severus."

"Why can't you just tell me what you need the poison for?"

"I told you, you'll live a better life without this kind of information."

The two teachers rounded the corner and Harry pressed himself deeper into the shadows, trying to melt with them. Snape was glaring at Morin, who only smiled back at the younger man.

"You're nuts," the potions master finally said.

"I know."

"You're complete crazy."

"I know."

"I think I'm going to call St. Mungo tomorrow and saying they're missing a patient from the section where they keep the insane?"

"Then you will experience more pain that not even can be compared to the Dark Lord, Severus."

"… I think I'll just settle saying you're out of your bloody mind."

"That's entirely fine with me."

All through their conversation, the older man had held his mouth formed into a pleasant smile while his eyes promised murder. Snape caved a bit and said:

"You know, you're rather frightening when you're angry."

"Then you haven't seen me when I'm furious." Ah, Harry noted, there was the twitching of Morin's eyebrow again.

"I don't think I want to…"

The teachers were heading for Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. They disappeared from Harry's view and he made a mad dash to the Tower.

Once he was inside he went to Hermione.

"'Mione!" he whispered.

"What?" she said.

"You remember when you said pro. Black asked for Basilisk poison?"

"Yes?"

"They're going there right now," the teen said. "He and Snape."

"What? But what's he going to do with it?" the bushy-haired girl said.

"I don't know. He wouldn't even tell Snape, saying something that he would have a better life without the information."

Hermione looked at Harry for a long time. Harry was sitting in a cushy armchair and looked at his feet.

"Say he wants to destroy something," Hermione began and the raven-haired teen snapped his head up. "What would it be?"

"Something so powerful normal potions or spells doesn't work," Harry said.

Hermione looked down.

"We are going to check this up aren't we?" she said after a while.

"I'm far too curious to stop now," Harry said.

"So am I," the girl replied. "Tomorrow, we'll go to the library."

"Deal."

-

Harry found himself in the library eight in the morning. They had hardly eaten any breakfast before Hermione had dragged him off. Ron had ignored them both, which made Harry's heart clench.

"He'll come around soon," the busy-haired girl said. "He's just a bit upset that you were right."

"You talked to him?"

"Yesterday, yes," she said. "He wanted to know if you were angry on him. He was upset when I said he could ask you directly."

Harry looked at her, but she had begun walking around, pretending to look for a certain book. Harry got up from the chair he had sat down on and went to the bookshelves as well. He walked to the section with different potions ingredient books. If Madame Pince would come and ask, he would say he was just a little bored and wanted to read about some interesting potions.

-

The small boy nervously knocked on the door to Morin's office around two.

"Come in."

Harry opened the door and went inside. Morin looked up and smiled.

"Hi Harry," he said. "Why don't you take a seat for the meantime while I finish this up?"

Harry sat down on a comfortable chair and watched on as the Black continued to write. His writing was flawless and elegant; oh, how Harry wished he could write like that.

"Severus said that you wished to learn how to write with a quill?"

"Um, yes sir."

"Are you good at writing with a Muggle pencil?" the Black said.

"Better than with a quill," Harry answered.

Morin nodded and put away the parchments. He waved his hand and suddenly a quill, a parchment and ink plopped up on the desk.

"I'm going to write how the letters in so called standard quill-writing will look like on this parchment," he said. "And when I say standard, I mean the way I learned it. I don't know if that's still the normal way but whatever! After that you are given another one and you will try learning how to form each letter. Is that okay with you?"

"Yeah," the teen said.

Morin nodded and set to work. He worked for about ten minutes before conjuring another parchment and gave both of them together with the quill and ink to Harry. Harry looked at the letters for a while before saying:

"You have a good handwriting professor."

"Don't worry; soon you'll be that good as well."

Harry began to copy the letters, with Morin's advice form time to time on how to hold his hand or the quill.

-

"Harry?"

"Yes sir?" Harry looked up from his parchment.

"How about we call it a day," Morin said. "It's around four-thirty now."

"Already?" the small boy said. "It's dinner time now."

"How about we make a deal?"

Harry looked at his professor and nodded.

"You will train each day by writing something short to me and leave it to me before curfew," the Black said. "Then you'll get it back the next day and you'll see what you need to train on."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Thank you!"

"My pleasure. Now, shall we go then?"

Harry was almost bouncing on his ay to the Great hall. Morin was striding next to him, and the raven-haired teen got the impression that he was actually floating because of the long robe he was wearing.

"Harry!"

Hermione called on him from the Gryffindor table and he walked over. He sat down between her and George.

"Hi Harry," the twins said at the same time.

"Hi George, Fred," he said.

"I found something interesting," Hermione whispered at him. "I'll show you later."

"Okay."

"By the way, where did you go earlier?"

"You know I'm kinda bad at writing with a quill?" he said.

"Not really that bad, but you haven't gotten used to it. What about it?"

"Professor Black offered to teach me, that's where I went earlier," Harry blurted out.

"That's great!" Hermione said.

"What's great?"

They looked up at Ron. He was shuffling a bit with his feet.

"I'm learning how to write with a quill properly," Harry said.

"Oh… Um, Harry, about earlier…"

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry about that," the redhead said. "I guess not all Slytherins is that bad."

"Took you long enough to realize that," the raven-haired teen said.

Ron smiled sheepishly, and the two made place for him as well.

"Who's teaching you?" he asked.

"Professor Black!"

Ron looked up at the Head Table and saw Morin looking at them. The man wore a genuine smile on his face. The redhead looked into those deep green eyes and suddenly heard, as if Morin stood just behind him:

"_Take good care of him. This year will be hard on him enough as it is."_

Ron shook his head a bit and stared at the older man. Said man looked away as McGonagall addressed him.

"Ron?"

The Weasley looked at Harry. His eyes were so different from Morin's. Innocent and happy.

'_Take good care of him?' _Ron mused. _'I'll always take good care of him. He's the purest and strongest person I ever met.'_

"What's wrong Ron?"

Ron ruffled Harry's hair and said:

"Nothing."

"Hey!"

The trio laughed. The twins soon were dragged into their talk and Morin looked at them as they smiled and laughed.

"What's wrong Morin?" Snape asked.

"Sometimes I wish I could do that," the older man said. "Smile and laugh like them."

Snape had the dreading feeling Morin was not joking about it.

"Purest and strongest person you ever met, Mr. Weasley?" Morin whispered softly. "I'll make sure Harry stays the purest and strongest person you ever met. Just relax and take care of him. I would want to take care of Harry, but I fear my life is not going to last that long."

No one heard those words, except for Ron. He looked up at the DADA professor, who only smiled again. This time the smile was made of sorrow and bitter revenge.

'_What happened, professor__ Black?' _Ron thought, hoping the man could hear you._ 'Who made you to the person you are today?'_

"_You know his name as well as I do. His name brings fear into your very soul, whilst it brings me pain and bittersweet vengeance. He has destroyed the happy life Harry deserved. And he will destroy the life that never should have begun."_

"Voldemort…"

"What was that, Ron?"

"Um, what? Nothing, Har. Just thinking for myself that's all."

The raven-haired teen looked at his friend who smiled brightly and said:

"Do you think I can have a look into your and 'Mione's secret later on?"

"If you're nice," Harry said with a smile.

"Oh, I can kiss your shoes and kneel to you if you want me to."

Harry laughed.

'_I could give you the world just to make you happy__,'_ Ron thought. _'Because you deserve that happiness more than anyone else.'_

Unknown to him, those words stung Morin like a knife in his heart as the words of a dead friend rose to life in his soul.

'_You're just like her__,'_ he thought as he looked at the redhead. _'You can't be… but… Even his aura feels so like hers…'_

Their eyes locked once more and something flashed in Ron's eyes that made Morin freeze.

"It can't be," he whispered to himself. "It can't be her."

That flash in Ron's eyes took a form in a colour of the deepest blue and Morin was convinced. It was _her_.

And for the first time all since he was nineteen, Morin Black found himself feeling oddly comforted as he drank in the eyes of his dead friend reflected in Ron Weasley's eyes.

Tbc…

* * *

**EDITED 2010-01-11**

Next chapter will stretch… dunno actually. You'll see next time, but it will center a lot on the trio, the twins, Draco, Snape and Morin!

Ja,

Tiro


	5. Ch 4: The Goblet of Fire

**Reverse of a Dark Future**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Harry Potter, JK Rowling does. She is a wonderful author and I love her Harry Potter books. I do not own any of the persons in this fic **except** for Morin Black. He's mine, I created him!

**Spoilers**: Um, book four and five. Only a bit though in the fourth book, and book five does not happen in this fic except that I mention some things and some creatures you should be aware about. Good if you have read up to book five. Book six or seven does not happen at all.

It's not spoilers, but I will warn you that all of the characters will be a bit different. The most major ones are Snape, Draco, the Weasley twins, Percy and Voldemort. Oh, and Harry will be a bit different, and I warn you it will be a bit mental abuse from the Dursleys directed to our little Harry.

And beware, because I am an evil girl and I have changed Voldemort's past!

Not everything will center on Harry, but most of the time it will together with Morin. Morin is involved in Harry's whole life and they will get close to each other. But some parts will be all Morin, but I will not make this fic so it will only be about Morin, don't worry.

**Pairings**: Slight pairing between Morin and Voldemort.

-

**EDITED 2010-01-11**

-

**Chapter Four: The Goblet of Fire**

Hogwarts was quiet. The sun had yet to rise so most of the people were in their beds, asleep. One though was too troubled to fall asleep.

Morin was pacing around in his chambers. He was certain it had been her in Ron, but the spirit had not been there before. Or at least, she had never woken up enough so Morin could feel her presence. The redhead did not seem to notice, but she was very good at sneaking even when she was alive.

He sighed and sat down. He would not get any answers yet. She had disappeared too deep inside the Weasley already, where she had been put from the start. Morin did not want to damage the child just to find the answer he wanted.

-

Monday morning was a bit chilly and a fog laid lightly on the grounds. A pale sun was rising but it was still not time to get up and get ready for breakfast. But there laid one awake far too early.

Harry had a nightmare. He did not remember a lot of it, but it had scared him. The only thing he remembered was before the nightmare started. Then he had seen his parents with Sirius and Remus. They had all been smiling, talking and laughing. Suddenly his mum had dragged someone forward. The man, or Harry thought it had been a man but the image had been so blurry, had black silken hair down to the waist, and dressed in dark clothes. The face was so blurry Harry did not even know the colour of the eyes. But he was pretty convinced the chest was way too flat for a woman.

Then that picture had gone away and he had seen the light of Avada Kedavra and heard his parents' screams. But this time another voice had mixed into his parents' voices. The voice, so awfully familiar but the teen could not place it, had screamed at them to get upstairs and run away. His mum had protested and then Harry had woken up.

Now he was sitting on the bed, his hands still gripping the sheets tightly and his whole body trembling. For some reason, tears welled up in his eyes and he started to cry. The feeling of loneliness crashed over him and he curled up. This was how he always handled the nightmares at the Dursleys. He fisted his hands and scrubbed them at his eyes. His heart was aching, and he wanted someone to comfort him. He had tried that at the Dursleys when he was very young. He still remembered the hit Vernon had given him for that. He had never tried again. Not even when he woken up by a nightmare at Ron's place. Old memories and "lessons" stuck onto the raven-haired teen as a leech and he could not just shake them off.

Harry got up from the bed while he tried to make the tears slow down. They did not. He changed into his robes, got on his glasses and checked the watch. Only six-thirty. He almost ran out from his dorm, down to the common room and out from the tower. He kept on crying as the loneliness got worse and the nightmare flashed in front of him, over and over again. He did not even notice the black-dressed man, and neither did the man, until they crashed into each other.

-

Morin fell back on the floor and the book he had been reading fell down on the floor. He shook his head and looked on whoever he had crashed into.

"Harry?"

The teen looked up as the name fell from the older man's lips before he could think and Morin stopped breathing. The green eyes were overflowing with tears. Harry did nothing more but sit and let them fall. He did not even seem aware who had called his name.

Morin rose up without caring for his book and crouched down by the teen.

"Harry?" he tried again.

The child looked up at him, finally seeing him and then he let out a sob.

"What's wrong, child?"

"N-Nightmare…" Harry mumbled. "I'm f-fine."

"Fine?" Morin said in disbelief. "Harry, let's go."

He helped the teen up and levitated their things. He led Harry to his office and helped him sit down on a comfy armchair. Morin pulled out from one of his pockets a small bottle.

"Harry, this is a Calming Draught", he said. "It will help you relax. It's only a small dose so you'll be normal at breakfast."

The boy nodded and drank the offered potion. Immediately he seemed to relax and he closed his eyes for a little while. Morin took the bottle and put it on his desk for the moment. Harry opened his eyes and looked at the older man, who was searching through his papers for something.

"Sir?"

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry," the boy blurted out. "I didn't mean to…"

"Didn't mean to what? Send me sprawling on the floor?"

"Y-Yeah…"

"That was entirely my fault," Morin said. "Honestly, a man in my age should know that being in a school means constant vigilance but did you see any vigilance? No? Thought so. Now where did I put it? I just came to think of it when I saw you but I'm hopeless to keep things where I know I can actually find them…"

As the man continued to mutter to himself as he moved aside parchments, books, quills and ink-bottles, Harry felt a smile stretch on his face as he found the image a bit amusing. Suddenly Morin straightened up and grinned before exclaiming:

"Found it!"

"Found what, sir?" Harry asked.

"I found it when I returned to my home," Morin said, "just around a week ago. I thought you would like it."

He gave Harry a photograph. The raven-haired boy accepted it and looked at it.

It was of his mum, dad, Sirius and Remus.

Harry sucked in a breath and stared in awe at it as they all waved at him. Morin sat behind his desk and looked at the boy before he leaned back and said:

"The nightmare was the thing that kept you from going back to sleep?"

"Yes," Harry said and tore his eyes from the picture. "Sir, this picture…"

"I'll give it to you," the Black said and Harry thought he saw something flash to life in those deep eyes so like his mother's. "How about we do something more fun before breakfast?"

-

"Sir?"

"Yes?"

"What kept you up this morning?"

The two of them were walking to the Great Hall for breakfast after having spent the last hour playing chess. Morin looked down at him thoughtfully, then he said:

"I've always been a bit of an insomniac. Sleep doesn't come easily to me."

"Isn't that boring sometimes, sir?"

"Sometimes, yes," Morin said. "But sometimes it's good for me."

Harry looked at him oddly, but the older man just smiled. They entered the Great Hall to find it nearly empty. Draco and Snape was sitting by the Slytherin table, eating. Harry walked over to them and sat down.

"Hi," he said to Draco. "Morning, sir."

"Morning Mr. Potter."

"Mornin' Har," the blonde said. "Hi professor Black."

Snape turned and nodded to the older man, who sat down by the raven-haired Gryffindor. Morin flashed a smile to the potions master before reaching out for his normal cup of tea. Harry noted his skin was not so pale anymore, and he even seemed to have gained some weight. The older man was still skinny though.

Snape looked at Morin as well and said:

"Albus sent you to Poppy?"

"Yes," the older man said and looked at his hand. "He said I was starving myself to death."

"And what wonderful solution did she have for you?"

"There was nothing wonderful about that solution, but she gave me Nutrient potions," Morin said with a twitch of his eyebrow. "Twice a day for a few weeks, or until I eat better."

"Is it really that bad?" Draco said.

"Can't really know why they're so concerned," the Black said. "I've been eating like this since I was twenty-three."

"How old are you now?" Snape asked with a raised eyebrow.

The older man stopped drinking his tea and was silent for a while. Then he said slowly:

"Sixty-something… I think."

"You don't know how old you are?" the potions professor said.

"I tend to forget things like that," Morin said with an absent wave of his hand. "Doesn't really matter."

Draco was staring at the man with his mouth open. Harry's hands had frozen and Snape actually dropped his toast. Morin looked up at them and said:

"What?"

"This is the first time I've ever heard about someone who forgets how old he is," the blonde said. "What about you Har?"

"I've heard people lie about their age, but forget about it… that's new," the teen agreed.

"My memory isn't really the best, I admit that," Morin said. "I forget things that are unnecessary."

"Your own age is unnecessary?" the potions master said.

Morin shrugged while looking at them. The three of them gaped. Snape recovered the quickest and closed his mouth with a snap. Morin took a toast and nibbled on it while sending the greasy-haired man a glare. The two boys soon returned to their meals with blushes.

-

Harry walked to Potions with Snape. Hermione and Ron had not showed up, and the raven-haired Gryffindor decided to wait in the Potions classroom. It was still a long time until class, but he had nothing better to do.

Morin had gone back to his office to prepare for his classes and Draco was going to get Blaise and Pansy before any other Slytherins would come and ask a lot of uncomfortable questions as they had done a lot.

Snape opened the door and let Harry in first. The teen realized this must be the first time he is in the Potions classroom without the feeling of dread. Dread, yes. He had never liked it when the potions master insulted him. Now it had gone a week and he had yet to hear any insults by the greasy-haired man.

The man made his way up to his desk and sat down. Harry heard him mutter something in the line of:

"One week into the term, and I already have grading to do. Merlin, kill me…"

The professor took out a shining black quill with some blood red ink and started. Harry sat down on one of the desks and decided to read over the chapter in Charms. He had read it already, but thought he needed to do so again.

But only after a little while he started thinking on what Hermione had found about Basilisk poison. She had promised to tell him and Ron later. Hopefully really soon. The boy glanced up at Snape but the man was deep in his grading. Harry focused on the text again but was soon distracted again. He was tired. More tired than ever. The teen fought to keep his eyes open, but a green light began flashing in front of him. Screams echoed around him and a splitting pain in his scar. Then the world became black.

-

Snape snapped his head up when he heard a 'thump'. Harry's head had hit the desk. The potions master frowned and quickly got up.

"Potter?" he said.

The teen's hand twitched but the rest of his body was still. Snape hurried to his side and picked Harry's upper body up from the desk. His breath hitched.

Harry's scar was bleeding and his face was scrunched up in pain. Snape picked up Harry into his arms and swept out from the classroom. Soon the raven-haired Gryffindor began to thrash around and moaning.

"It's alright," the potions master said gently. "It's alright Harry."

"Nooo…" Harry said. "Leave him alone…"

'_Him? Him who?'_ the potions master thought.

Harry opened his eyes, and the man got worried by what he saw. They were lifeless and some of the blood vessels in his eyes had broken and leak out in the eye-whites.

Snape almost ran to the Infirmary and with a wave of his wand he crashed the doors open. Madam Pomfrey came out from her office with an annoyed expression on her face. It faded away as she saw the bleeding and rushed over while Snape placed Harry in a bed.

"What happened?" she asked with wide eyes.

"I don't know," the potions professor said. "One minute he was fine, the next he just lost consciousness. The scar was already bleeding when I came to him, and his blood vessels in his eyes are breaking. "

While they took care of Harry, they had no idea what had happened elsewhere in the castle.

-

Morin had just planned out the day when a sharp pain in his right arm made him fall to his knees. He nearly screamed but bit his lip bloody instead. He cradled the arm to his chest and let a hiss escape as the next wave came. He tried to stand up but the pain made him just able to crawl to the desk for some support.

"Stop it… Tom," he whispered as he grabbed onto his arm enough to cause bruises. "Stop it…"

The pain lessened a bit and he could get up again. He slumped down in his chair and rode out the third wave of pain. He quickly healed his lip with a small healing spell and he massaged his right hand, wrist and lower part of the arm. He fought to keep his pain inside.

"Stop it," he said more firmly out in the empty air but it seemed like he was speaking to someone not present. "Now."

-

Both the medic-witch and the potions master were utterly surprised when the scar stopped bleeding on its own and Harry seemed to relax. The teen opened his eyes, which still was bloodshot but not lifeless anymore and said out in the air:

"Thanks… professor Black." Then he fell asleep.

Pomfrey looked at Snape who said:

"I'll go and check on Morin."

She nodded and he swept out the Infirmary.

-

"Morin, open the door!"

Snape knocked again. He had knocked three times but no answer had come. Finally the door opened quietly and he stepped in.

Morin was leaning heavily against his desk, sitting on it with one hip and blood dripped from his lips as he had received another sharp twist of pain in his arm.

"Morin?"

The man did not seem to hear the younger professor. His green eyes were dull and far away. Snape walked closer and suddenly the Black rose up. He was clutching his arm as he got to the window. The potions master followed. Morin waved with his hand and the glass exploded. The older man looked at the glass, growled and swept it away with another wave of his hand. Snape had never seen such a careless use of wand less magic.

The next movement the Black made was enough to almost give Snape a heart attack. He leaned out so much he was about to fall out.

The potions professor rushed over, grabbed Morin's robe and pulled him back. The Black fell back into the chest of the younger man and began to trash around. Snape pulled out a potion and forced it into the other man's throat. Morin turned back just in time for Snape to crash into the desk, that quickly he backed away while his onyx eyes widened of fear.

The eyes, normally deep green, were shining red and a twisted smile was upon Morin's face, a smile that was never meant to be there. But then the potion began to work and with that the Black's eyes rolled back and he fell down. Snape's arms were shaking and he was leaning against the desk. He looked at Morin's fallen form and the only sentence running through his head was:

'_That was the Dark Lord.'_

-

Harry was well enough to go to classes after lunch. He had slept through half of the Potions class, and Madam Pomfrey wanted to keep him a little longer, just in case.

He was walking down the corridors to the Great Hall for lunch when someone stopped him. He turned around, and Draco's pale face met him.

"Dray?" he said quietly.

"Granger looked shaken up," the blonde said. "I asked Sev, and he said you were sick."

"Yeah," Harry said. "I was in the classroom waiting for class when I started to feel sick. I was given a potion that made me sleep through most of the Potions class, so Madam Pomfrey let me stay until lunch."

"But you're alright now?" Draco asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," the teen began but stopped as his stomach growled. "And I'm hungry."

"It's strange though," the blonde said as they walked towards the hall.

"What is strange?"

"Morin wasn't teaching on the morning," Draco said. "Something happened, but Sev refused to even let me ask about it. He said Morin was fine and was going to teach in the afternoon."

"He looked fine earlier," Harry said with a frown.

"I know," Draco said. "But I guess some things we won't find out."

"You're right." But Harry had the nagging feeling he should know what had happened to the new DADA teacher.

-

Draco had been right about Hermione. The girl had almost jumped on him as he came but she refrained. Instead she asked him what had happened. Ron made sure he was alright and offered to carry his bag when they were going to Charms.

"Have you read the chapter?" Hermione asked Harry.

"Yeah," the teen answered. "But I think I might have lost some of my notes."

"It's alright", the bushy-haired girl said. "I got them all."

Harry just nodded and then caught a glimpse of Morin and the old headmaster in another corridor. The Black was walking slowly, like an eerie shape against the headmaster's colourful robes. The younger of the two looked beyond tired and he kept rubbing his temples. The older wizard seemed to keep a close eye on Morin as they walked down the hall.

Harry looked at his friends; they had gotten into an argument and had not seen anything. Somehow, he was glad for that.

-

While Harry was having Charms, the Black tried to prepare to have the Weasley twins' class together with the Ravenclaws. Despite what Snape had told him what had happened earlier, the older man did not seem to recall it at all. He was sitting on the desk in the classroom, waiting for the students. He had a headache that refused to stay down and he was getting desperate. He was going to give the same lection as he gave Harry's class. Whether he would like it or not, he had yet to see.

The students dropped in until it was time. Morin absently noted the two redheads in the middle. They seemed to be the only Gryffindors not talking loudly. The Black looked at each of the Gryffindors carefully, but they seemed not to pay attention. The Ravenclaws looked annoyed. Morin sighed, raised his hand and made a torch shoot out flames over the classroom. Everyone snapped their heads at him. They were met by a man looked more dead than alive, though they did not see it. He was sitting in the shadows so they could only see his polite smile and glittering green poles to eyes.

"Hello," he said. "It seems like that got your attention. Please refrain yourself from speaking so loudly when the class has begun; I can hardly hear my own thoughts."

The Gryffindors were silent as the grave now. Some looked offended and was glaring at him, but Morin paid no attention to them.

"I am, as you all know, Morin Black. I will not coddle with you I'm afraid this year. The Ministry wants to keep you as safe as possible by not letting you know too much about curses through times. I'm of a different opinion. The best protection for you is to know what curses exist, and the best defence against it. The three most dangerous ones of all the dark curses in the world are the Unforgivables, which has been used by many people."

"Um, sir?" a Ravenclaw said.

"Yes?" the green-eyed man said.

"Should we really be learning about curses?" she asked. "I mean, the Ministry has always said we shouldn't learn about them."

"Why shouldn't you be learning?" Morin said with a cocked head and they all froze at the strange smile he had on his lips. "Would you rather get an unknown curse on you and hope that the Ministry people will come before you end up six feet under?"

The girl got quiet for a while. Then she said:

"That's what my father said."

"Let me guess; he works at the Ministry?"

"Yes," she answered, a bit angry. "Do you think you know more about curses than my father?"

"No need to get upset," Morin said and leaned forward so that they could see his face.

His strange smile was in place, and his eyes were like glittering emeralds. But they had no kindness or warmth as they usually held. Instead they were enough to make the Ravenclaw shake in her seat.

"I worked as an Auror before, miss," he said quietly and she looked ashamed. "And my specialty was curses, so please keep those comments to yourself until you have proof."

Most Ravenclaws looked angry now and the Gryffindors confused. But there was two people who were not really listen to them.

George was too still for Fred's taste. His brother had gone stiff when Morin mentioned the Unforgivables. When Morin began talking about the three curses after the little 'chat' the Ravenclaw had with Morin, George got even stiffer but he got out quill and ink and a parchment as he began writing down as everyone else. The Ravenclaws was for once those who did not try to do their best.

-

"Both of the Weasleys, do you mind staying?"

The two twins looked up at Morin, and nodded. The Gryffindors gave them a sympathetic look and Lee said:

"He seems like a whacko. Don't let him to anything strange on you."

"He's alright," George said.

"You can't know that," a Ravenclaw said. It was the same girl whose father worked at the Ministry. Apparently, the sixth-year Ravenclaws had no big love for the Black.

"He saved my life this summer," George snapped.

"What happened?" the Ravenclaw and Lee said at the same moment.

"I was hit by a curse," the redhead said. "A Cruciatus. I was lucky he came when he did, otherwise I would've died."

With that, he walked to the front, leaving a group of students staring after him. Fred grabbed his bag and looked at the Ravenclaw. Then he hissed:

"Great, you made him snap. Just when I thought he would be fine, you had to open your big mouth."

George stumbled just at that moment and someone shouted out. In a flash, Morin had caught the redhead and said calmly:

"Continue to your next class. Fred, come here."

The other Weasley ran up to the front and the others left. Morin set down George on a chair and said:

"It was a bit too much for you, huh?"

"Yeah, kinda," the redhead in the chair mumbled and then rubbed his eyes.

"What's wrong?" the older man said.

"I keep seeing them…"

Morin looked at George. Fred was looking at his brother in worry. The older man stood up fully and walked to the desk.

"The memories will not fade away," Morin began abruptly, snapping the twins out of their thoughts.

"How do you know?" Fred asked.

"It's been fourteen years since I was tortured with Crucio," the Black said as he looked out the window while the two brothers looked at him with wide eyes. He was absently tapping his fingertips against the surface of the desk. "And the memories still makes me wake up screaming in the middle of the night."

George looked at the older man with a silent plea in his eyes when Morin turned back to look at them.

"I haven't have those nightmares this summer though," Morin said.

"Why not?"

"Because I learned a trick," Morin said. "There is a way to makes those memories seem less frightening."

"How?" George asked.

"It's like a Patronos spell," Morin said. "The spell where you drive Dementors away."

"Harry knows that one," Fred said suddenly. "You think of something happy."

"Yes," Morin said, "but this time you need to protect yourself from your own memories."

George was shaking just so slightly. The older man seemed to twist his hands just a bit and he looked outside again. Fred caught the hesitation in the man's movements and realized Morin had probably little to no experience in comforting people.

"How about we go back to the dorm and let you rest a bit, George?" the redhead said.

"I would recommend it," Morin said quietly. "I can excuse you from your last class. What do you have?"

"Herbology," Fred said, "but you just need to excuse George…"

"It's better when you're not alone," the older man said. "Dealing with your demons alone is not a thing I would recommend."

"You had to do it on your own?" George asked weakly.

"I have little trust in people and they have little trust in me," Morin said. "Don't become like me. Now go."

Fred helped George up and looked back on last time before he left. Morin was looking out the window for the third time, and the redhead thought for a moment that the Black was transparent, like he was never there. Fred rubbed his eyes and looked again. No, not transparent at least.

In the next moment, the older man looked away and moved to sit down. Fred opened the door and disappeared with a small "Later, professor".

-

Harry, Ron and Hermione gathered up at the evening in a corner of the common room. Hermione dragged out a book from her bag and said:

"Okay, I didn't find much but it's at least something."

"Just spill it," the redhead said.

"Basilisk poison is almost the only thing you can use against the destruction of a Horcrux," Hermione read out to them from the old book.

"A Horcrux?" Ron said. "What the heck is that?"

"Listen carefully, because this is all I got about Horcruxes," Hermione said and looked at the two. They listened. "It's a very dark object, and is forbidden to be made because it's created by… well, murdering someone. I don't know what it's for, but it sounds like something big."

"Then it must be what professor Black is doing," Ron said. "Destroying Horcruxes."

"Yeah, but why alone?" Hermione said. "Why not letting anyone help him?"

None of them had an answer.

-

Morin was lying in his bed, staring up at the roof. A flash of memories made him turn to his side.

"Leave me alone," he muttered.

Percy's bloodied face suddenly flashed by and he opened his eyes. The Ministry in ruins, with a man with a face resembling a snake with red eyes laughing out load as he attacked everyone he could see. The arrival of Aurors that made him retreat.

Morin sat up and groaned.

"I hate being a seer," he said to the emptiness of the room.

-

Tuesday all of the Ravenclaws had apparently ganged up against Morin, since they did not like his method of teaching. They were convinced he was teaching first-years about curses when a first-year Slytherin had dared saying he was teaching them about dangerous creatures.

The second-years said Morin was a great teacher. He had continued Lupin's work with the younger ones, and only started with curses with the fourth-years. Those under was taught other things not as dangerous.

The Gryffindors and Slytherins had even agreed that the Black was a good teacher. First time in a long time that the two houses agreed on anything.

The Hufflepuffs wisely stayed out of the whole thing.

Tuesday afternoon and the school was in an uproar. The Ravenclaws, mainly the sixth-years, forbid the others in their houses going to Morin's classes. The girl whose father worked in the Ministry had owled her father and the father had said Morin Black was a man you could not trust.

Morin himself seemed to take this calmly. He taught the classes who came, and always had a smile on his face. The first- and second-years admired him already. The older classes thought he was cool.

The trio and Draco were by the lake after classes and Hermione was upset.

"Why did that Ravenclaw had to open her big mouth?!" she exclaimed as she paced back and forth.

"She made George all strange too," Ron said and stared out over the lake. "He doesn't want to talk that much with anyone, not even Lee."

Harry and Draco were quiet. The raven-haired teen was angry with the Ravenclaws too, but also a bit scared. The Black could not be trusted? Should he trust the Ministry or were they full of junk as always?

"This isn't fair you know," the blonde Slytherin said quietly.

"I'm with you on that one," the redhead muttered. "Damn Ravenclaws, thinking they are so smart. 'Mione can beat them all."

"Not to say professor Black can," Hermione said. "He finished school in his fifth year. No doubt they know that information too."

"They think he's not educated enough?" Harry said.

"That's a possibility," the bushy-haired girl said. "I mean, he's not a stranger. He has a history here on Hogwarts of being on of the smartest students ever. I mean, he beat all the records."

"Stupid Ravenclaws and their pride," Draco muttered.

Harry suddenly rose.

"I want to speak with him," he said. "I forgot leaving my training text to him yesterday, so he got two now."

"Alright," Hermione said and sat down. "See you at dinner?"

"Yeah," he said. "See you guys later."

"Harry?" the blonde said. "Mind if I go with you?"

All three Gryffindors understood his underlying meaning that he wanted to be a bit with the teen and Harry nodded with a grin. Draco got up and they walked back into the castle.

Inside it was rather quiet. Dumbledore was in the Great Hall together with the Ravenclaws that did not want Morin and no one was allowed in.

Harry and Draco hurried up to Morin's office. The small Gryffindor knocked on the door and it opened just as he brought his hand down. Morin was sitting on the windowsill, reading a book. He looked up at them and smiled. Harry noted for the first time that the smile was a bit strained.

"Hi there," the older man said. "What brings you here?"

"I forgot the text yesterday and here's the today's text."

Morin strode forward and accepted both parchments.

"Oh, I almost forgot about these," the older man said with delight. "Now I have something more fun to do."

"Looking if I can write is fun?" Harry said with a raised eyebrow.

"Hey, that looks like Severus," the Black said and laughed as Harry exploded.

Draco held a hand over his mouth to keep his laughter inside and the Gryffindor was fuming. But soon he relaxed and laughed sheepishly.

"Sir?" Harry asked a while later.

"Yes?" the Black said as he was looking over Harry's parchments.

"Why doesn't the Ravenclaws like you?"

Morin stopped for a second and eyed the green-eyed boy carefully.

"Fear makes you strange," he said finally. "I am said to be dangerous, and fear makes them go blind and trusting anyone who is against me. And in the Ministry, I think many are."

"Why are they against you?" Draco said.

"I was friend to Tom Riddle," the Black said. "It doesn't matter how many times I tell them we stopped being friends long ago; they are still convinced in their own twisted way that I'm still his friend."

"Are you?" Harry asked.

The older man looked at the teen with thoughtful eyes.

"Do you think I am?" Morin asked politely.

"No," Harry answered. "You don't try to hurt anyone Voldemort is against. You haven't hurt me."

"Maybe I want Voldemort to finish you on his own," Morin suggested.

"If you really were with him, why did you try saving my parents to badly?" the raven-haired teen said and Morin blinked.

"What do you mean?" the older man asked with a bit of confusion.

"Now when you spoke, I realized something," Harry said. "I had a dream yesterday morning. The nightmare?" Morin nodded; he remembered that one. "I heard mum and dad before they died. But this time they weren't alone with Voldemort. There was a voice, trying to convince them to run. I finally recognized it was your voice, sir. You were there when they died."

Morin watched Harry for a long time. Then he rose up from his desk and walked over to the two boys.

"Yes, I was there," he began quietly. "Lily didn't want me to fight against Voldemort on my own. That was when the Crucio hit me. When I regained consciousness, they were already dead."

"Was Voldemort gone as well?" Harry asked.

Morin did not answer. He seemed to shake a bit and then said:

"I think you should go the hall and have some dinner."

Neither of the boys had the heart to continue the questions.

-

As soon as they left, Morin almost fell against the door. He locked it and made his way to his desk. His head was spinning and he started coughing. His lungs started hurting with the strain, as did his throat and sprays of blood splattered onto an unused parchment.

"Not yet," he gasped as he sat down. "Not yet. I'm not finished."

A spark inside of him, a suggestion but he shook his head.

"No, save it. I'll need it later," he managed. "Just… I'm just going to sit here… and catch my breath."

_And perhaps clean up the blood_.

Morin looked absently at the mess, wiping the blood away from his lips with his hand.

"Perhaps," he said, looking at the blood. He knew it.

_It_ was beginning to wear off.

-

The following days were tense in the castle. Some people on the Ministry had been on Morin's side apparently and had defended him. On Thursday it was settled he was to continue with being a teacher.

If he was happy about or not, no one knew. They just saw him a few times at dinner and in classes.

Except for Harry, Draco and Snape. The three of them with Morin ate breakfast far too early every day, so the two boys got to see their teacher often. Snape and Morin seemed to be bickering all the time about so silly things Draco often burst out in laughter. The older man also always won their arguments, no matter what the potions master did.

Harry never did ask Morin more about what had happened when his parents died. He had the feeling Morin did not really want to remember it. The man was cheerfully 24-7, but the teen saw the small slips the Black did in his otherwise perfect mask.

-

On Friday, everyone was exited. The other students from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons would arrive around two in the afternoon so they were excused from the afternoon's classes. While Harry was sad he was going to miss DADA, he was excited as well.

The tension that had rested over Hogwarts had been released that day and the Ravenclaws had slowly begun to look into if Morin was such a good teacher. They had to admit he was at least a fair one. He came from Slytherin, and many thought he was going to favour the Slytherins, but he actually removed points from the Slytherins on his first day because they had attacked a Hufflepuff girl. To say the students had been surprised was an understatement.

Harry was on his way to the Great hall for lunch when Draco ran to him with a grin. Blaise was behind him.

"Hey," he said.

"Hi Dray," the Gryffindor said. "Hi Blaise."

"Harry," the black-haired Slytherin said.

"Since we're free until quarter to two, do you think we can get something from the kitchens and eat outside?" the blonde asked eagerly.

On Wednesday the Weasley twins had told Harry about how to get to the kitchen, and he had visited once already. Dobby, who had gotten a work there, nearly smothered him then.

"Sure!" Harry said. "Wanna come with us Zabini?"

"If that's okay," the teen said with a small smile.

"Pansy wanted to come as well," Draco said.

"I'll tell Hermione and Ron I'm eating with you guys today," Harry said.

"Meet you at the painting then?" the blonde Slytherin said.

Harry nodded and dashed to find his two friends.

-

"This is great!"

Draco fell back to the blanket and grinned. Blaise, Pansy and Harry rolled their eyes at the blonde. The Gryffindor was doing his training writing at Morin again. Harry did not know why, but seeing a genuine smile on the older man's lips was something he began look forward to. The man seemed to have little to smile at.

"You're spacing out Har."

The boy looked at Draco who smiled at him.

"I guess I am," the Gryffindor said.

"What are you thinking about?" Pansy asked.

"Professor Black", Harry said and scratched his head.

"Those stupid Ravenclaws," Blaise muttered.

"You think so too?" the Gryffindor said. "I don't get why they even needed to start questioning professor Black's ability of teaching."

"He has an interesting way of teaching," the girl said. "He was going to owl the Ministry to see if he could demonstrate Imperius."

"That would be great to see it for yourself," Harry commented.

"Yeah," Draco said. "He said he was going to try make an Auror come here for a day so they can show together different curses for all the years above the fourth. If we were nice, he was going to include all of the fourth years."

"That would be cool", Blaise said.

"I'm sure the Ravenclaws will complain about that as well," Pansy said. "They'll say something like this: 'Safety first! Morin Black cannot be trusted'!"

She had gotten up to a standing position and said it with a high-pitched voice, making the three boys laugh at it. She stuck her nose in the air as a final effect.

-

Around half past one they got into the castle again and met with three Weasleys and Hermione. The twins had joined Ron and Hermione in search of the three Slytherins and one Gryffindor.

"There you are!" Hermione said brightly.

"Told you we'd come before quarter to two," the small boy said. "I'm just gonna leave my bag in my dorm."

"We too," the three Slytherins said.

"Then come back here," the bushy-haired girl said. "The four of you, okay?"

The Slytherins looked at her for a while, then nodded.

-

Half past two the two schools' students were seated in the Great hall and Dumbledore had presented the Goblet of Fire. Harry was fascinated with the blue fire and thought he had seen it before. The tables filled with food even though the Hogwarts students had eaten just a few hours earlier. But this time the tables were filled with food that was foreign. Harry recognized a few of them when he had looked in aunt Petunia's cook book of French food. Hermione knew that as well, but Ron was sceptic that it was good. He stayed with the food he knew. Harry looked over at the Slytherin table. Viktor Krum, who was in Durmstrang, was sitting with Draco, Zabini and Pansy. The blonde locked eye with the Gryffindor and they grinned to each other.

Harry let his eyes go to the Head Table. Karkaroff and Maxime were sitting there as well. Snape looked sulky as always, but for once Harry was surprised how Morin looked like. He looked tense, something he had never looked like before. His green eyes were like a raging storm and full of hatred. He was looking at Karkaroff.

And for the first time since Harry met Morin Black, he was afraid of the older man.

Tbc…

* * *

**EDITED 2010-01-11**

Until later,

Ja,

Tiro


	6. Ch 5: The Chosen Ones

**Reverse of a Dark Future**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Harry Potter, JK Rowling does. She is a wonderful author and I love her Harry Potter books. I do not own any of the persons in this fic **except** for Morin Black. He's mine, I created him!

**Spoilers**: Um, book four and five. Only a bit though in the fourth book, and book five does not happen in this fic except that I mention some things and some creatures you should be aware about. Good if you have read up to book five. Book six or seven does not happen at all.

It's not spoilers, but I will warn you that all of the characters will be a bit different. The most major ones are Snape, Draco, the Weasley twins, Percy and Voldemort. Oh, and Harry will be a bit different, and I warn you it will be a bit mental abuse from the Dursleys directed to our little Harry.

And beware, because I am an evil girl and I have changed Voldemort's past!

Not everything will center on Harry, but most of the time it will together with Morin. Morin is involved in Harry's whole life and they will get close to each other. But some parts will be all Morin, but I will not make this fic so it will only be about Morin, don't worry.

**Pairings**: Slight pairing between Morin and Voldemort.

-

**EDITED 2010-01-11**

-

**Chapter 5: The Chosen Ones**

Morin could not help himself but stare at Karkaroff in wonder. He had no idea his eyes showed such hatred. He honestly thought the man was still in prison, but apparently not. This world would never cease to surprise the Black.

He sighed and took a bit of the meat in front of him. He looked at his hands and wondered why Poppy had insisted on a Nutrient potion. Those were horrible, and it made him weaker.

"Found something interesting in your hands that you even forget to eat?"

Morin snapped up and looked at the potions master who had a raised eyebrow.

"Just thinking on ways to kill Poppy later on," Morin muttered. "Damn witch…"

"Don't we all do that from time to time?" Snape drawled out with a sympathetic nod.

"At least you don't need to take any potions that makes you feel like you as strong as a kitten," the Black complained.

-

Dumbledore rose up just before the desserts were to be served and began speaking:

"Tomorrow night we will see who the champions in the Tri-wizard Tournament are. If you want to be one of those champions, write your name on a parchment and drop it into the goblet. However, there are some rules. Because of the dangers in this tournament, no one under seventeen is allowed to put their name in the goblet. I will, together with madam Maxime and Mr. Karkaroff, set up an age-line. And there is another rule. If someone over seventeen years drop down a parchment with the name of someone who is under seventeen in the goblet, that parchment will be spitted out. So those under seventeen, it's useless whatever you try. Now, enjoy your desserts and then off to bed."

The voices in the hall had never been so loud, or so angry in some cases. Ron turned to Hermione, Harry, Fred and George and said:

"Does anyone of you want to be in the tournament?"

"Not me," Harry said, holding up his hands. "I'm still hoping for a calm year."

"Never," Hermione said. "The headmaster said it was very dangerous, and I myself feel like I'm not ready for something like that."

"You then?" Ron asked his brothers.

"Why?" they answered. "There can only be one; we don't work alone, Ronnie."

"Stop calling me that!" the younger redhead snapped.

Harry ignored them and looked up at the Head Table again. Morin was picking on his dessert as he was absently talking to the potions master. Harry shook his head and returned to his dessert. He had a bad feeling about this whole tournament.

-

Saturday morning. Harry was walking towards Morin's office, and noted there were a lot more students up than usual. Most of them were walking to the Great hall. The raven-haired teen could not understand why they found the goblet so interesting. Or maybe some of the students from Durmstrang or Beauxbatons were in there.

Harry did not really care. He was looking forward to speak with Morin a bit. The Black always seemed to be able to brighten Harry's mood. He knocked on the door and it opened silently.

Morin was drinking tea and had a few scones by his side.

"Hello Harry," he said. "Have you eaten breakfast yet?"

"No," the teen said. "Too many people in the hall."

"Well then, join me," the Black said and waved his hand to make the hard chair in front of his desk to turn to a much more comfortable one.

"Thanks," Harry said, accepting the invitation and sat down.

Morin conjured another cup and filled it with tea.

"Scones isn't really my ideal breakfast," the older man said, "but Poppy more or less ordered me to eat it. Please, eat them up for me."

"I won't eat all of them," the raven-haired teen said, pointing his finger at the man as a warning. "You have to eat some yourself."

"Bugger."

-

Snape knocked on the door and entered. The sight made him stop for a moment.

Who would have thought Morin Black, a feared Auror, would play the Muggle game "catch the ball" with the Golden Boy Harry Potter? Right now they were trying to make the ball stop with the help of their wands; or rather, Harry tried to. Morin caught with a small magic he let free from his hand. The teen was laughing and the older man had a faint smile on his lips. The potions master quickly closed his mouth and knocked on the door again. Morin looked towards the door and said:

"Good morning Severus. Enjoyed a breakfast with the students?"

"You must be joking," the greasy-haired man answered. "I ate in my chambers. Here are some papers Albus wanted you to have."

"If it's another paper form the Ministry, I am seriously going to hang myself," the older man muttered and accepted the parchments the potions master gave him. "Harry, why don't you run and get those training parchments you had done for me?"

"Alright," the raven-haired teen said brightly. "I'll be back soon."

He more or less ran out. Snape quirked an eyebrow and said:

"Seems like he's taken a likening to you."

"And I don't understand it at all," Morin said with a smile.

"You seem to like him too."

"He makes me smile," the older man said with a shrug as he read the parchments. "Not many people can actually succeed with that."

Snape nodded and sat down. He took the ball in his hand and studied it while Morin finished reading.

"Albus didn't tell me what those papers were," the potions master said.

"It's about Basilisk poison," Morin said. "Albus said he had some notes somewhere, and I guess these are them."

The potions professor did not ask more, knowing Morin would not answer. He rose up, put the ball down and said:

"I'll be leaving then."

"Have a good day," the Black said, absently waving his hand.

"Already lost in other thoughts," Snape muttered to himself with a grin.

-

Harry had just gotten out of the portrait when Draco came.

"Hi Dray," he said.

"Harry, I think you need to see this," the blonde mumbled and dragged the teen off.

Draco took him to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.

"Why are we here?" Harry asked.

The Slytherin only pointed and Harry looked inside. The entrance to the Chamber of Secrets, whom he had told Draco during the summer about, was demolished. The crying ghost spotted Harry and said:

"Hi, Harry."

"Hi, Myrtle," he said and smiled to her. "Who did this?"

"Why do you want to know?" the girl asked as she wiped her cheeks.

"I mean, haven't anyone noticed this?"

"Apparently no one except for the boy next to you. I guess he saw it when I overreacted and sent some water outside."

"Not even professor Dumbledore knows?" the teen asked as he stepped inside.

"No," Myrtle wailed. "It was Dark magic that destroyed it."

"Who did this; did you see who it was?" Harry said with wide eyes.

"No," the ghost said and sat down in the middle of the air. "Whoever it was, it was too fast."

The two boys looked at each other. While Ron and Hermione did not know, Harry had shared everything they had known about Morin and the Basilisk poison with the blonde, and now the same thought crossed their minds: What if Morin had done this? And if he had, why this violence?

-

Harry returned to Morin's office a while later. He knocked and opened. Morin was scribbling something down on a parchment, and he took a moment to study his professor. Green eyes narrowed, due to a headache no doubt, face pale because of too little sun over the years, bony fingers massaging his temples as he had put down the quill and a too gaunt body. Harry now realized why some students had said Morin looked like a living dead.

Morin peered up and the teen smiled.

"Dray delayed me a bit," he said as an explanation.

"It's alright," the Black said softly. "I am in a serious need of a distraction from this; do you think you can help me with that?"

"I think I can."

-

Saturday passed quickly, and soon Harry found himself in the Great hall for the first time on that day for dinner. It was also time to select the champions. Hermione and Ron filled him out who had put their names in. Ron said it had been odd that Fred and George had not even tried to get their names inside. Harry looked over at the two of them. George was leaning slightly against his brother, looking tired. Fred had an arm around George and looked a bit worried. Ron and Hermione seemed not to have noticed that.

Harry looked over at the Slytherin table. Draco, Pansy and Blaise were sitting with Krum. The Durmstrang saw Harry and to the teen's surprise, waved to him. Harry waved back at the four of them before moving over to the Head Table.

Dumbledore had a deep blue robe that fitted him perfectly and currently the wizard was in deep discussion with Madam Maxime. Karkaroff was talking to the potions master about something, while the professor seemed annoyed. Morin was absently running one of his fingers along his plate, looking bored. Today he had a robe of the Slytherin green colour that made his eyes sparkle. The other professors were chatting.

The food appeared and Harry, realizing how hungry he was, dug in. He and Morin had gone through his texts for a few hours, before the Black had said he could go and be with his friends for the rest of the day. The Golden trio had met in the library to find out something about Horcruxes but the search had been in vain. There was no book in the allowed sections about the mysterious thing, and they did not dare to try entering the restricted area. So they had given up the search and just read some book they had liked. In Ron's case, a book about Quidditch, for Hermione a book about the right of magical creatures as she had gotten the crazy idea house elves needed more justice and for Harry… He had settled down with a book about potions. He had heard that Morin was a potions master as well, and wanted to know what had made both the Black and Snape so stuck in potions.

"--ry? Harry?"

Harry shook his head and looked at Hermione, who had called his name.

"What?" he said.

"You were spacing out," she answered. "Professor Black seems to space out as well."

The Gryffindor looked at the Head Table, right into Morin's green eyes. They wore a strange green tint to them. Bright and so unlike Morin's dark green. The Black blinked drowsily, and the connection broke. Harry had seen something in a flash of a moment, but had not caught it. Why was he seeing things when he looked into Morin's eyes? Harry did not notice when the older man narrowed his eyes again, staring intently at the Gryffindor. Then he suddenly turned away and his demeanour changed immediately to his normal, cheerful one. No one had seen this sudden change, except for a blonde Slytherin.

-

Dumbledore rose up and silence fell over the hall in a few moments.

"Now the time has come for the selection of the champions," the headmaster said and everyone cheered. "Now, whoever is the champion, please step into the door to the left of the Head Table. To Durmstrang and Beauxbatons, Madam Maxime and Mr. Karkaroff will follow with you."

He stepped in front of the goblet and waited. The blue flames suddenly turned into a fierce red and it spit out a piece of parchment. Dumbledore caught it and read aloud:

"From Durmstrang, Viktor Krum!"

Cheers from the Durmstrang echoed in the hall. The chosen one stood up and went to trough the door with Karkaroff. Another piece of parchment spit out and the old wizard said:

"Fleur Delacour from Beauxbatons!"

A young woman with blonde long hair swept up from the Ravenclaw table and followed Madam Maxime.

"And from Hogwarts, Cedric Diggory!"

The hall roared with cheers from the Hufflepuff table. Cedric got up and smiled at everyone. Then he went through the door.

"Now everyone—," Dumbledore began but suddenly stopped.

The flame in the goblet turned a violent red again and spit out another parchment. The wizard caught it and read the name. He was as frozen as a statue. Everyone began to wonder what was happening, while Harry felt a chill run along his spine. He would not like this…

"Harry Potter," Dumbledore read out loud.

Harry sat frozen in his seat. Everyone's eyes turned to him, and the silence was deafening. Ron and Hermione said at the same time:

"Harry?"

"Harry, would you mind coming up?" the headmaster said, his voice shaking slightly.

The teen looked over at Morin, who inclined his head and nodded it against the door. Harry rose up while his mind was racing; how had his named ended up in the Goblet of Fire? He got to the door and almost fell. Morin's bony, yet warm hand kept him upright.

"It's alright," the older man said. "Just walk on; we'll figure something on."

They walked into a room where the other three were. Dumbledore followed shortly with Snape, Crouch and Bagman. Immediately Maxime, Karkaroff, Bagman, Crouch and Dumbledore began to argue about the number of champions and how Harry's name had ended up in the goblet. Snape watched the raven-haired Gryffindor who stood together with Morin. The older man stood still, with one hand on Harry's shoulder. The Black melted into the shadows like a shadow himself. Harry himself was staring into the wall.

"What's the meaning of this, Dymbledore?" Maxime finally said.

"I'm afraid I don't know either," Dumbledore said with a concerned voice.

"Aren't this what you call cheating?" Karkaroff said with a vicious glare at Harry, who shrank away in fright. Morin's hand squeezed his shoulder, a warm flooding into the teen a moment later. Harry relaxed slightly.

"And why would we want Harry to compete in a dangerous tournament suited for older students?" Morin answered from the shadows behind the Gryffindor.

Karkaroff stiffened, but Dumbledore held up a hand.

"There is no possibility to make the rules change," Bagman chirped in, far too happy about this. "Harry has no choice."

The Gryffindor could cheerfully strangle the man. And judging by the way Morin's hand clamped down on his shoulder, the DADA professor would not object to that. He would probably help.

"Harry?" the headmaster asked.

"Yes sir?"

"Did you put your name in the goblet?"

"No sir."

"Did you ask anyone to do it?"

"No sir. It wouldn't be possible anyway. Besides, I didn't want to be in the tournament from the beginning."

The adults began to argue once more, and Morin sighed. He stepped out from the shadows and went to the door. The students had left the hall so he stepped outside. No one took notice of him leaving, except for a Gryffindor who now felt very alone.

-

The arguing had gotten more heated when suddenly a rush of magic swept through the room. Everyone stopped in their tracks. Snape was the first to move and ran to the door. He got it open and swirl of evil magic came across them. Maxime held Fleur behind her while Karkaroff did the same with Krum. Dumbledore got both Cedric and Harry behind a statue before running up to Snape. He stopped in horror at the scene played out in front of him.

Morin was standing in front of the goblet with raised arms, protecting his face from the vicious force that was around the goblet. Dumbledore recognized it as a shield of magic; a very strong shield. Snape took a step closer and Morin screamed out:

"Stop! It's protected by Black magic!"

They all stopped in their tracks. Morin concluded the magic was not about to lash out at him again and lowered his arms as he examined the goblet from where he stood and continued:

"The goblet seems to have been lured that there was four schools, and that the four chosen were all over twenty."

"'ow do you know?" Maxime asked.

"I've worked as an Auror for many years, madam," the Black said and cocked his head to one side. "I've encountered things like this before. But this curse is well prepared."

"What do you mean?" Dumbledore asked.

"Someone planned this."

Harry felt his world crash down at those words. Someone planned to bring him into the tournament?

-

The Gryffindors tried to make Harry stay and celebrate in the common room, but he fled up to his dorm and shut the door.

"Hey."

He whipped around and almost slumped down on the floor as he saw Ron and the twins. He went to them, who all were sitting at Ron's bed and fell down on it.

"Someone kill me," he said.

"You didn't put your name did you?" Ron said.

"Are you serious? Why would I?" the teen groaned.

"You looked like a ghost when the headmaster said your name," George commented.

"That's why I'm asking you to kill me," Harry repeated.

Fred lifted him up further to the bed and plopped him down on George's lap. Harry let out a yelp, but did not fight the arms that automatically came to rest over his shoulders. Ron sat down in front of George and laid a protective hand on Harry's stomach. Fred sat down with his twin brother's side pressed into his chest and he folded his legs to that one was supporting George's back and the other Ron's back.

"Don't worry Harry," Fred said. "We're gonna make sure you're fine."

Harry relaxed in the Weasley brothers' embrace and closed his eyes. He wanted to believe that so much. But could he really?

-

Harry was dreading Monday when he had to leave the Gryffindor Tower and go on classes. Hufflepuff would probably think he wanted fame, as usual (which Harry always tried to avoid), the Ravenclaws would think the same and the Slytherins… well, he did not know about them, but they would most certainly not like it. Luckily Ron, Hermione, the twins and the three Slytherins understood. Right now he was sitting by the lake, succeeding to have gotten out before anyone noticed him. He was sitting on a hard rock and was staring out over the lake.

"Hey there."

He turned around and came almost face to face with Draco. The blonde Slytherin took a seat next to the teen and said:

"What are you looking at?"

"Nothing," Harry said. "I just want away from here."

"Why?"

"Why do you think?" the Gryffindor said. "I always have some kind of troubles here at Hogwarts. I should never have started here."

Silence. Then Harry received a smack on his head.

"Ouch!" he said. "What was that for?!"

"For you being an idiot," Draco said. "What do you mean you should never have started? Then no one of us would know you!"

"Maybe it would be the best!" Harry said and rose up. "Or else you'll just get hurt!"

"What's gotten into you?!"

Draco got up in front of the Gryffindor and looked at him for a long time. Then he raised his arms and embraced the shorter boy. Harry broke down after a few moments, and clutched onto Draco.

"I don't know what to do!" he cried out to the blonde. "I don't know what I'm supposed to do!"

"Sshh…" Draco hoisted up Harry better and rubbed the smaller teen's back.

Harry was a mere child, the blonde realized. He was just skin and bone underneath the clothes. He was too fragile for a tournament like this, and **no one** understood that. Everyone says that it is going to be fine, but it was not going to be fine. Not until this whole thing was over.

"Feeling better Harry?" the blonde asked.

"Not really," the smaller boy answered. "But I'm glad I have my friends with me."

"And you got professor Black and Severus as well," Draco said.

Harry peered up and the Slytherin smiled softly.

"You and Morin's eyes are so alike," Draco murmured. "The only difference is that yours looks younger."

"I thought that as well," Harry said. "Strange isn't it?"

"Strange indeed," a voice behind them said.

They turned and looked at Morin. He was shielding his eyes from the sun with a pale hand and smiled at the two of them. He was wearing two golden earrings underneath the black hair, a black neck-shirt and a pair of black tight trousers. He was wearing a pair of soft boots. Harry saw two glimmering bracelets underneath the shirt.

"You surprised us!" the blonde whined. "Don't do that again please!"

Morin held up his hands in a silent defeat with a smile. Draco looked at him and continued:

"You haven't had those earrings before. Neither those bracelets."

"I found them," Morin said. "It's just sentimental things I can't bring myself throwing away."

"Who gave them to you?" the blonde asked, always eager to hear something about Morin's past.

"Two old friends," the older man answered, somewhat stiffly. "They're both gone now."

The blonde apologized but Harry kept looking at Morin. The man had clearly not spoken the entire truth. Harry took a better look at the bracelets Morin was showing the blonde Slytherin. They were in silver, and covered in emeralds.

"They look expensive," Draco mumbled.

"I sure hope they weren't," Morin said. "I wouldn't like to know that I was carrying around on a fortune."

"I mean, silver and emeralds," the blonde said. "That means expensive."

Morin just laughed.

-

Monday came and went. Harry thought it would be worse, but apparently the other students had some time to think and they had relaxed about the whole idea. The Hufflepuffs had not been happy, but Cedric had defended him against their protests. Ravenclaw made no big deal of it. The Slytherins had actually been happy there had been someone 'smarter' than a Hufflepuff. Harry knew they did not support him, but at least they did not hate him.

Snape had been very nice to him at Potions class, and Harry found himself enjoying the class more than usual. Things were looking brighter.

The days came and went so quickly that soon it had gone several weeks since the champions were chosen. During the last week the four champions had been informed about the first task in the tournament. Not what they were facing, but when. Harry felt even more nervous about it, not knowing what it was. It was to take place sometime in the end of November.

Right now Harry was walking outdoors with Draco and Blaise. Pansy and Hermione had gone to the library, and Ron was in Hogsmeade. Neither of the five had wanted to go, but Ron had promised Ginny so he had gone with the promise to buy them all something.

It was in the in the end of October, and it was a bit chilly but the three boys did not mind so much. Harry ran to the lake, enjoying the quiet Saturday morning. Blaise made a small fire with the help of his wand, cradling the fire in his palm to help them keep at least a little warm. The Gryffindor was fascinated by the flames licking at the Slytherin's hand without hurting him. He had seen this kind of fire before, just as he had recognized the fire in the goblet. Draco was reading through a book for different spells that Morin had lent him while Blaise and Harry made a game of who could catch the fire. They threw the flames between each other, careful to not hit their clothing or hair.

-

Morin fingered on the twin bracelets he had. What in Merlin' name had possessed him to wear these again? And the earrings… He must be going crazy.

He got up from his chair and cracked his neck. He had been doing grading and therefore skipping breakfast. He was now reminded by that when Snape came in.

"You weren't in the hall," the potions master said casually.

"What are you now, a spy for Poppy?" the older man said.

"Maybe I am," the younger answered. "I'm ordering breakfast to you."

"If you order scones with butter and jam, I am going to kill you."

"Scones without butter then?"

"No jam."

"Why not? Jam is quite good you know," Snape said as he prepared to call on a house elf.

"I hate jam," Morin stated firmly. "And now I hate you."

"Love you too," the potions professor teased.

Morin smirked and sent the younger man a kiss, which made Snape broke into hysterical laughter. Morin called on the house elf himself and ordered tea and scones for two. Jam for the potions master. The house elf just nodded and disappeared. The Black helped Snape sit down while the younger man tried to stifle the giggles that still came out from his mouth.

"I won," Morin declared calmly.

"I know," Snape gasped out. "But I can't really bring myself feeling angry about that right now."

-

Ron had kept his promise and had given them all some kind of candy. He had even given the Slytherins. He gave Harry Sugar Quills, which he knew was the teen's favourite. Fred and George gave Harry some more candy, just smiling when he asked why they had given him. George had patted his head, and Fred had ruffled his hair. But both had sure left him confused.

Hermione was currently studying a book in the common room while Ron tried to teach Neville some good tricks in chess. Harry was happily sucking on one of his Sugar Quills when there was a peck on the window. Harry rose up to see Hedwig. He had almost forgotten about the letter he wrote to Sirius, but now it came back at full thrust. He immediately let her in and the owl landed heavily on his shoulder. He took the letter and said:

"I'll take her to the Owlery."

"Be careful," Hermione said. "It's almost curfew."

"I know, I'll hurry."

He walked out and began to go towards the Owlery. Hedwig hooted softly at him and he said:

"You must be really tired Hedwig. Don't worry anything about flying for a while; I'll try avoiding sending letters."

She hooted again and pecked his neck carefully in gratitude.

-

Harry was making his way back to the Gryffindor Tower when suddenly there was an explosion not far from where he was walking. He fell down on the floor thanks to the magical barriers and hit his head. His glasses fell from his eyes and he curled up as the floor shook.

He uncurled when the shaking had stopped and carefully searched for his glasses. When he found them he slipped them on and looked around. Dust laid thick on the floor and he coughed, realizing he was covered in dust as well. He got up and looked around. He heard steps coming his way and slumped down on the floor as he felt a spike of pain running up his leg. He took a look and groaned as blood dripped down from his leg onto the dust-covered floor.

Suddenly an eerie aura laid itself around him and another explosion occurred. This time parts of the ceiling fell down, almost right at him. The aura thickened and acted as a shield. Harry curled up, mindful about his wound and hoped someone would get there soon.

"Harry!"

At the moment, the Gryffindor did not really hear the concern and fear in the potions master's voice, instead he just turned around and cried out in relief as more of the ceiling came crashing down. Snape came forth and the eerie aura disappeared. Harry was picked up and wound his arms around Snape's neck. The man just embraced him back and moved away from the destroyed parts.

"What are you doing here, Harry?" the potions professor said softly.

"I was just leaving Hedwig in the Owlery," Harry said with a sniff. "I had let her hunt for a while, and she didn't return until now."

Snape nodded and hoisted him up better, cradling him like a child so that he could see the wound. Soon the other professors came as well. Dumbledore looked at the potions master and Harry and said:

"Severus, can you take Harry to the Infirmary?"

"Yes Albus," the man answered.

"Morin," Albus said. "You go and try to find where the explosions started. The rest of you, check the damages."

Harry saw the Black take out his wand, and saw it clearly for the first time. It looked beautiful. Even if Morin was a bit away, Harry could feel the magic pulsate in the wand. It was strong, just as its master. The older man looked at Harry, and flashed him a small, encouraging smile. Then he went through the dust-covered hallway with his robe billowing behind him.

Snape carried him to the Infirmary and Madam Pomfrey spent five good minutes cursing at whoever set off the explosions. The potions master did not leave Harry's side.

"He's going to need crutches tomorrow," Madam Pomfrey said to the potions professor.

"I'm sure there are no problems with that," Snape said to the Gryffindor.

"No," Harry said. "Just tomorrow?"

"Yes," the medic witch said. "I want you to come back after dinner tomorrow and I'll see if your leg is good enough. Now, I want you to go to the Tower and lie down instantly."

"I'll go with you," Snape said quietly and Harry nodded.

The woman handed Harry a pair of crutches, made them comfortable for Harry and the two were allowed out. Snape was walking slowly next to Harry, which made the teen feel relaxed. They got to the Tower and the potions master said:

"Are you going to be alright now?"

"Yes," Harry said with a blush as he remembered how he had clutched onto the man. "Thank you sir."

"My pleasure."

Harry gently took a hold of Snape's sleeve and tugged on it a bit. The professor caught the hint and leaned down. It was just for a second that Harry's arms embraced his neck once more, then they were gone and Harry was already turning away. Snape stopped him.

"You know that if you have any problems," the potions master said, "any problem at all, both me and Morin will listen. And don't feel like you're wasting our time by telling us things; we will only get more sad by that fact."

Harry whipped his head around to drink in Snape's smile. He nodded with a big grin, and almost broke down in tears. Finally, he had an adult he could lean on.

"Thank you sir," he whispered.

Snape gave him a small one-armed hug and went his way. Harry nearly jumped in joy until he remembered his leg. He turned back and walked the short distance to the Fat Lady's portrait.

"You come out with an owl, and comes back in with crutches," the portrait said with a raised eyebrow.

"It's kinda a long story," he said, shrugging helplessly. "Gallimatias."

She shook her head and swung the portrait open.

"Hello Potter," McGonagall said. "The others hurried up to their dorms, but there were certain ones that kindly refused until you had arrived."

"Sorry about that," he said and limped inside on his crutches.

"Are you alright mate?" Ron said and sprung up. "Why are you walking on crutches?!"

"It's a long story Ron, and Madam Pomfrey said I should go to bed directly…"

The Transfiguration professor stepped out and Harry said:

"Fill me in quickly; what happened?"

"They don't know," Hermione said as she wrung her hands. "It's was frightening actually. Professor McGonagall said something that professor Black had recommended getting some Aurors here to investigate."

"That means it was serious?" Harry said. "This is just my luck."

"Need any help to bed?" the twins asked.

"No I'm fine," Harry said. "I think I'll go now. See you tomorrow 'Mione."

"Okay," she said and hugged him briefly. "Ronald, make sure he's comfortable!"

"Yes mother," Ron said and rolled his eyes.

Even though Harry had not really needed help, the three Weasley brothers had refused to leave him alone. It felt good actually when George fluffed up his pillows and Fred tucked him in. It felt good when Ron said if he needed anything, he could wake the redhead up. It felt really good, knowing people did care about him.

And with those thoughts in mind, Harry fell asleep with a smile.

Tbc…

* * *

**EDITED 2010-01-11**

Until later,

Ja,

Tiro


	7. Ch 6: A Fight For Life

**Reverse of a Dark Future**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Harry Potter, JK Rowling does. She is a wonderful author and I love her Harry Potter books. I do not own any of the persons in this fic **except** for Morin Black. He's mine, I created him!

**Spoilers**: Um, book four and five. Only a bit though in the fourth book, and book five does not happen in this fic except that I mention some things and some creatures you should be aware about. Good if you have read up to book five. Book six or seven does not happen at all.

It's not spoilers, but I will warn you that all of the characters will be a bit different. The most major ones are Snape, Draco, the Weasley twins, Percy and Voldemort. Oh, and Harry will be a bit different, and I warn you it will be a bit mental abuse from the Dursleys directed to our little Harry.

And beware, because I am an evil girl and I have changed Voldemort's past!

Not everything will center on Harry, but most of the time it will together with Morin. Morin is involved in Harry's whole life and they will get close to each other. But some parts will be all Morin, but I will not make this fic so it will only be about Morin, don't worry.

**Pairings**: Slight pairing between Morin and Voldemort.

-

**EDITED 2010-01-13**

-

**Chapter Six: A Fight For Life**

The time started to run out for Harry to the first task, and he was utterly nervous. It was already in the middle of November and he had no idea what he was going to face. However, that changed on 22nd of November.

He was eating breakfast with Morin, Snape, Draco and Fred when Hedwig came in. She dropped a note on his lap, nipped his ear and snatched a piece of toast from him. He unfolded the note and read:

_Come to my__ cabin tonight at midnight. Bring yer Invisibility Cloak._

_-__ Hagrid _

Confused but hiding it, Harry folded it again and put it in his pocket.

"What was that?" Draco asked.

"Just Hagrid asking if I had time for tea later," Harry smoothly said.

He did not enjoy lying to the blonde, but he could not just tell two professors he was going out after curfew despite what had happened.

It had come Aurors to the school who investigated who or what could have caused the explosions. That had become the top topic at Hogwarts lately beside the tournament; not that Harry minded. He just remembered how Snape had hugged him that night, and how much lighter his heart had felt.

Morin was shoving around his breakfast as usual. It seems like fried eggs was not a favourite of that man's taste. Or rather, nothing seems to fit his taste. Harry picked a new toast and let Hedwig take his old one, as she had already eaten half of it. She hooted softly to him and flew off. Snape read the Daily Prophet while he drank some tea. They were sitting at the Head Table. Draco, Fred and Harry had been a bit nervous, but the professors had insisted and conjured chairs for them. It was a Saturday morning so no one was up yet and the three boys had no good argument for not sitting at the Head Table.

After a while the three boys left after finishing their breakfast. Harry looked back just as Morin made the chairs disappear and Snape leaving for his dungeons. The Black was still there, staring into space with his face propped up in his hand. Harry went outside, leaving the man to his own thoughts.

-

The day passed quickly and soon Harry found himself walking towards Hagrid's hut under his cloak, thinking how stupid he was. Why was he doing this, breaking the rules? He shook his head as he came to Hagrid's hut and the giant man was already waiting for him.

"Hagrid?"

"Sshh," the giant said. "Just follow me, Harry."

The teen followed after Hagrid who stalked into the Forbidden Forest. Harry was surprised when Maxime came walking but the two adults seemed to have expected each other.

"'Agrid," the French witch said.

"Madam," Hagrid answered.

The big man led the witch deeper into the forest with Harry trailing behind them. Suddenly they came to a clearing. And Harry almost screamed. He managed to keep it inside by slapping a hand over his mouth but his eyes widened behind his glasses.

Dragons. More than one actually. Hoards of people were running around, securing the dragons as well as carrying blankets with big, oval, grey… eggs?

"Hagrid!"

Harry turned to the familiar voice and saw Charlie jogging towards them.

"Hello there, Charlie," Hagrid said. "I thought me and Madam Maxime could take a look at the dragons?"

"That's fine, just as long as you don't get too close," the redhead said.

Maxime seemed to be fascinated with them and whispered:

"Beautiful…"

"Yes, they are," Charlie said. "A bit annoyed to be transported so long but they'll be fine."

"So they are the first task?" Hagrid said in a low murmur.

"Yes," the Weasley answered and Harry froze. "I can't really believe Harry ended up in the tournament."

"Yea, everyone was real' surprised with that," the large man said.

"Mother was upset and worried about that," Charlie said. "I'm just happy I'm not fighting them."

"Why not?"

"Well, three of them are relatively nice, but the fourth…" Charlie shuddered.

"Who's that?"

"The one with the spikes on its tail. Hungarian Horntail, nasty bastard those ones."

Harry could not understand the fascination in Hagrid's eyes. The teen was rather terrified of the dragons. He turned around, convinced Hagrid would not miss him, and nearly ran from the place.

-

He was sitting in the common room later, waiting for Sirius. The man had said that he should be in the common room the same night one at night and so Harry was sitting there, lost in thoughts. Dragons. How would he be able to defeat a dragon? He curled up and sighed.

"Harry?"

Sirius' voice made him whip his head around. There was no Sirius in the room, so where…?

"Down here."

Harry looked at the fireplace, and nearly screamed as Sirius' face was looking at him. He quickly got down on his knees and smiled.

"Hi," he said. "What are you doing back in England?"

"I was worried about you," Sirius said.

"That isn't a good excuse," Harry said. "I'm in good hands, and I won't feel any better if my godfather gets caught by the Ministry."

"Don't worry; I'll be careful," the Black said. "Now tell me about what's going on? I heard something about a tournament."

"Yeah," Harry said and quickly went through what had happened.

Sirius was quiet for a while, then he suddenly froze and said:

"Wait a minute. Did you say Morin Black?"

"Yeah, why?"

Sirius frowned.

"I knew him when your parents were alive," he said hesitatingly. "I didn't know he was still alive."

"He is," Harry said. "And he's our DADA professor."

"Well, he certainly has the knowledge," Sirius muttered. "I don't know about him Harry, but be careful. He was a friend of—"

"Voldemort, yes I already know that," Harry said. "He told me. He's not dangerous."

"You don't know that."

"Then why did he try to save me from Voldemort the day mum and dad died?"

The man had no answer to his godson.

"Sirius," Harry said. "I trust him. He helps me. He even seems to have made Snape nicer."

"Morin made the greasy git nice?" the Black almost screamed.

Harry did not dare to tell his godfather he had hugged the 'greasy git'. Suddenly they heard footsteps and Harry said:

"You need to go now."

"I will see you later," Sirius said and then vanished.

The raven-haired teen sat back down and hugged his knees to make it look he was in deep thought.

"Harry?"

The small Gryffindor turned to Ron's voice and he said:

"Hi Ron."

"What are you doing up so late?"

"Thinking," Harry answered. "I know what's on the first task."

"You do?" the Weasley said and sat down next to his friend. "What is it then?"

"Dragons," the raven-haired teen said flatly. "I don't know what to do."

Ron was quiet for a while. Then he put an arm around Harry and said:

"We'll figure something out."

Harry nodded against Ron's shoulder.

-

Morin was looking at Harry as the teen did his quill-training. He seemed nervous and got lost in thoughts all the time.

"Something on your mind Harry?" the Black asked.

"Nothing," Harry answered.

"I hear a lie," the older man continued and put down his own quill.

Harry put down his quill as well and looked at Morin. The man wanted the truth, and Harry never seemed to be able to lie around the Black.

"Don't say this to anyone," the Gryffindor warned.

"My lips are sealed, as Muggles says."

"Funny. I saw what the first task was yesterday."

"You did?" Morin said, curious. "And what might that be?"

"It's dragons," the teen said and wrung his hands nervously. "I don't know what to do."

"When is the first task?"

"On Wednesday," Harry whispered.

"And you have no idea how to defeat a dragon?"

"Do I look like I know?"

Morin studied him for a bit and then rose.

"No suggestions at all?" the older man said.

"No," Harry said. "I mean, I'm not good at anything. I can't remember all the spells Hermione tries to teach me, and I'm horrible in Potions…"

"What are you good in then?"

"I'm pretty good at flying."

Harry looked up at Morin who only continued to study him. The teen absently noticed the man was still carrying the bracelets. He wondered what Morin wanted him to say, but then it clicked. Harry blinked a few times, looking like an owl and said slowly:

"There is a way."

"Oh?" Morin said.

Harry nodded and then bit his lip. If he wanted to learn the spell, he needed to go now. Morin suddenly smiled and sat down again. He took up his quill and looked at the parchments. Without looking at the Gryffindor he said:

"How truly unfortunate of me that I didn't notice you slipping out from the room."

Harry grinned, got up with his things and yelled a 'Thanks' just as he closed the door. Morin kept his eyes on the parchment but let a quiet 'Good luck' slip out from his mouth.

-

Hermione, Ron and Harry soon found themselves in an empty classroom. In Charms, they had practiced on the Accio spell but Harry never got it right. The spell would bring Harry whatever he wanted if he could get it right. Hermione had succeeded of course, and so had Ron but the teen's nerves had been torn to shreds over the nervousness of the tournament and he almost set professor Flitwick's hair on fire when he had tried.

"Harry," Hermione said a while later. "Don't worry about it; it'll be fine."

"I can't do it!" Harry yelled, frustrated. "I have to learn it before Wednesday!"

"Take it easy mate," Ron said. "Just relax and try it one more time before we go and have some lunch."

Harry got up, feeling exhausted and had to cling to Ron for support.

"Or maybe we should go to lunch now," the redhead said.

"I need to learn the spell," Harry said.

"You can't learn it when you're exhausted," Hermione scolded. "That will only leave you more frustrated."

Harry nodded, seeing the logic. But he wanted to learn it as fast as he could. He needed the spell as strong as he could make it, because in the task you were only allowed your wand and nothing else. If he wanted to Accio his broomstick he needed a strong Accio.

He sighed and pushed away from Ron. He looked at his friends and said:

"Let's go and eat then."

-

Morin had ignored lunch and sat on his chair in his office, staring at a bottle of Basilisk poison. He had yet to destroy the Horcrux Arthur had given him, but he wanted to gather them all and destroy them at once. He had the locker, the goblet and the ring so far. Three out of six, that was not so bad for a man who could hardly stay on his feet. But the problems were these three others. Rowena Ravenclaw's diadem, Voldemort's snake Nagini and… and… Harry.

Morin groaned and let his head rest on the desk. How was he going to get out a piece of Voldemort's soul out of the raven-haired teen without killing him? He dunked his head a few times and groaned again. Not a good idea for his headache.

"Starting skipping lunch as well?"

Morin looked up.

"Poppy's spy," he growled. "Get out you traitor."

Snape chuckled at the insult and stepped inside instead. Morin tried to glare but seemed to be in no mood for it so he stuck out his tongue to his colleague instead.

"What do you want for lunch?" the potions master asked the older man.

"Something light," Morin said and let his head sink down on the desk again. "And something for a headache."

The potions master summoned a house elf and ordered a soup with some water. The elf bowed and disappeared.

"I'll use some of your Floo powder," Snape said.

"Help yourself."

Snape went to his chambers to retrieve a potion for headaches and got back to Morin's office. A soup with a goblet of water next to the plate stood on the desk. Morin had not moved though.

"Eat," Snape said and put down the potion.

Morin sat up and shook the hair from his face. He was not really hungry, but knew his body needed the nutrients. But more immediate things first; the headache. He took the potion and drank it quickly. He then took the spoon and slowly began to sip the broth. The soup itself was quite good; house elves were excellent cooks.

"Why are you doing this?" he asked softly.

"Doing what?" the potions master answered and looked up from a book he was reading.

"Making sure I'm eating alright," Morin said and shrugged. "Spend time with me to make sure I'm okay… Why?"

"Why not?"

"That's not the answer I want."

"Maybe because you're a friend," the younger man said calmly.

For the first time since Snape had met Morin Black, the older man did not answer. Snape looked at the Black, waiting for one. Morin himself was just staring at Snape.

"Friend?" he said finally.

"Yes, friend," Snape said uncertainly. "Something wrong?"

"Except for the tiny detail that was the first time someone had said that to me in what, over forty years, no, not really," Morin said and smiled a bit. Snape saw it was a bit forced. "I was surprised that anyone wants to be my friend nowadays."

"Harry seems to be your friend," Snape said while trying to take in the strange look in the older man's eyes.

"He's a mere child," the Black said softly and shook his head. "He doesn't know who I really am."

"Weren't Lily and James…?"

"They never said so," Morin said, "and I never tried to make them say it. I knew them, they knew me, that's all. We were on neutral terms with each other."

The potions professor looked at the older man for a long time as Morin began eating his soup again.

"Still having a headache?" Snape asked after a while.

"No," Morin answered, feeling like he was being coddled. "And whatever you do, don't you dare try pet my head."

"Ehm… I wasn't planning to."

"Good."

-

Harry, Hermione and Ron were back in the classroom after having eaten and continued trying to train on the Accio spell. The teen got more and more frustrated because he could not concentrate. Flashes of the dragons came all the time and finally he sat down on the floor. Ron kneeled down next to him and said:

"You alright?"

"No," Harry answered, not even bothering to hide his frustration. "I'm going to screw this up."

"No you're not going to do it," Hermione said. "Alright, let's take a small break and just relax."

"Easy for you to say; you know how to do it already," Harry muttered.

"Harry," the bushy-haired girl said. "Don't compare yourself to me."

"I just…" the raven-haired teen ripped of his glasses and scrubbed them with his knuckles. "I'm tired for some reason."

"Hey, you and I were up late last night," Ron said and plopped down from kneeling to sitting. "You're just too tired to concentrate."

"Just relax your body for a bit," Hermione encouraged.

Harry nodded and lay down flat on the floor. He never meant to fall asleep.

-

When he woke up, he was lying with his head in Ron's lap and a hand was threading through his hair. He felt extremely comfortable and had no wish whatsoever to open his eyes. But he needed to train on the spell, and he did feel better now.

Harry opened his eyes and looked up at the redhead. The hand disappeared from his hair and seemed to retrieve his glasses. They were put on his nose and Harry blinked.

"Hi," Ron said. "It's dinnertime, and Hermione is getting some food."

"Where from?"

"The kitchen. And yes, she won't try to convince the elves to stop working."

Hermione had been obsessed about that topic all since she learned there was house elves on Hogwarts. They had met Winky, Mr. Crouch's house elf during the Quidditch World Cup who had later on been accused of using a wand and as far as Harry knew, she had been given clothes by Crouch. The only way a house elf could be free was if they were given clothes. Winky had seen this as a disgrace, as did many house elves. Hermione had been the one who protested the most about Crouch's behaviour towards poor Winky.

The door opened and Hermione slipped inside.

"I met Draco in the hall," she said. "Is it okay if he eats with us?"

"It's okay", the two boys said and Harry sat up.

The blonde Slytherin came in, carrying a tray of food as Hermione did. He shone up when he saw the small boy.

"Hi Dray," Harry said.

"Feels like I haven't spoken to you in ages," Draco said.

"It's been a while when you think about it," Harry said.

Hermione and Draco put down the trays and they began to eat.

-

For Harry, the days passed too quickly and suddenly it was Wednesday. It felt just like a moment ago that he had told Cedric about the first task, but it was actually two days ago. He had mastered Accio on Tuesday with the help of Hermione and Draco; Ron had been on detention that evening.

Right now he was sitting in the Great hall, trying to eat some lunch. Hermione and Ron encouraged on him for every bite he took, but suddenly McGonagall came stalking.

"Potter," she said and he looked up, startled. "The champions are to gather on the plane now. Follow me."

"Good luck," Ron said. "You can do it mate."

"You will do great Harry," Hermione said.

"Yeah," Harry said and gulped.

He looked at the Slytherin table, and Draco together with Blaise and Pansy made thumbs-up. He smiled at them before following the head of his house.

"How are you feeling?" she asked as they were walking towards the plane.

"Good," the Gryffindor answered without meaning it. McGonagall nodded briskly and they continued the walk in silence.

"Here it is," she said as they stopped in front of a tent. "Mr. Bagman will explain everything for you. Good luck."

With that she left him. He took a deep breath and entered.

-

Fleur did not look like the fairy woman Harry had always seen right now. Instead, her mouth was drawn into a fine tight line and she looked nervous and tired. Krum looked more grumpy than usual and was leaning in a corner. Cedric was marching back and forth, seemingly not able to really stop.

The Hufflepuff flashed Harry a weak smile and Harry's mouth twitched into a fast smile.

"Oh hello Harry!" Bagman said. "I almost thought you wouldn't make it!"

Harry just sat down on a bench.

"Now that everyone is here, I will tell you the first task," Bagman continued. "When the people are on place, you will all get a thing from this little bag." He held up a small purple bag in front of him. "From it each of you will get a miniature model of what you will meet, since there are different variants you see. And there was something else I was supposed to tell you… Yes, your task is to collect the golden egg!"

They all nodded, far too nervous to really look at each other. Just for a moment there was a complete silence before they heard hoards of people walking past the tent. Harry was tempted to run out and mix with them. He feared if he opened his mouth his lunch was coming up.

Bagman opened the bag and said cheerfully:

"Ladies first!"

He held it out to Fleur, who reached into it and got out a small but perfect model of a dragon – a green Welsh with the number two on it. She seemed not surprised, so Harry concluded Madam Maxime had told her.

Krum was next. He got out the Chinese firebolt with number three on it. He just glanced at it before glaring down at the ground.

Cedric pulled out the blue grey Swedish dragon with the number one. The young man swallowed hard and sat down.

Harry already knew what he was getting and pulled out the last dragon. The spike-tailed model dragon stretched its wings and hissed at Harry. It had number four on it.

"Now everyone knows what number they have!" Bagman said. "Each of you has now concluded what dragon you will meet. The numbers tells you in which order you are, that means Mr. Diggory is first. I must soon leave but when you hear the whistle, Mr. Diggory, please step out. Oh, and Harry can I speak with you for a moment?"

The teen nodded and got up. They left the tent and Bagman immediately said:

"How do you feel? Do you need anything, or can I help you?"

"What? No, I'm fine, I don't need anything."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Do you have a plan? If you need anything I can help you."

Harry stared at the man.

"No," the raven-haired teen said finally. "I already have a plan."

"Are you really sure about that?"

"Yes," Harry answered, feeling a bit irritated.

Bagman was about to continue when a whistle sounded.

"Oh, I have to go!" Bagman said. "Well, good luck Harry!"

He rushed away. Harry turned around and walked back inside. Cedric came walking out, and Harry got out a small 'Good luck'. Then the only thing left to do was to wait.

-

Harry tried not to listen as Bagman commented on Cedric, Fleur and Krum. He was waiting alone, his body shaking. He was seriously considering running out and away. But then Krum seemed to have won and cheers were heard. Then the whistle came.

He rose up and staggered outside. He walked past the trees and into an opening of the enclosure.

Hundreds of people stared down at him but he only saw the dragon. It was sitting on the other side of the enclosure, looking rather annoyed. Bagman was saying something, but that did not really matter to the teen. It was now or never. He raised his wand and called out:

"Accio Firebolt!"

The Horntrail started to move, stretching so that it could get closer to Harry. It opened its mouth wide and flames erupted which made the crowds scream. But Harry was only concentrating on one thing: the familiar sound of his broomstick as it came towards him.

Harry grabbed it midair, swung one leg over it and kicked off. He zoomed high up and he felt the panic wash away the higher up he got. He was familiar with this. This was his element. The dragon was nothing more but a rough Quidditch team. He finally stopped from his mad ride upwards and looked down at the dragon. The golden egg was shining as it was resting with the other eggs, but it was secure between the dragon's legs.

"Alright", he mumbled. "What to do, what to do?"

First he had to get the dragon out of the way and made a swift decision. He dove straight down.

The wind smashed against his face but he did not notice. The crowds was screaming again, but he did not notice that either. All that was on his mind was that egg. He changed direction abruptly, neatly avoiding the spiky tail that swung towards him. The dragon turned its head around, to him, and Harry shot up as fire came out from the mouth. Bagman was screaming something but the Gryffindor did not even bother try to listen.

The Horntail was reluctant to leave the ground, that much was clear. Harry came down a bit and continued to circle around. The mouth opened again and he went forward to avoid the attack the dragon lashed out. This time he was not so lucky. While the flames avoided him, the tail came and one of the long spikes hit his shoulder. The spike torn up his robe and he felt a stinging pain. The crowds seemed to moan instead of him. Not even the pain could make him stop right now.

He had to get her to leave the ground, if just for a moment. He flew right over her and stopped. For a second their eyes met and he said aloud:

"Come on."

The dragon reached for him and he raised himself a few metres up.

"Come on," he hissed. "I know you want me. Come and get me."

The entire crowd had gone silent, but still they could not hear what he was saying. They could see his mouth move. Hermione was digging her fingers into Ron's arm. Draco was white as a ghost. Blaise had to keep Pansy on her feet as she had staggered when Harry got hit. The Weasley twins were staring up at the teen as he continued to slowly circle just out of reach for the enraged dragon.

The professors sat on needles, all except for one. Morin was calmly watching the teen and had a small smile on his face. Snape turned to him and said:

"How can you smile at a time like this?"

"How can I not?" Morin said. "Harry doesn't need your fear; he needs your encouragement."

The potions master continued to stare at Morin. The Black suddenly narrowed his eyes and muttered quietly:

"Just a bit more Harry, and she'll fall into your trap. Keep going."

Finally the dragon rose up and stretched the giant wings, ready to take flight. Harry dove, faster than he had ever done in his life. Before the dragon had any time to realize what he was doing, he had already gotten to the ground and he reached out with his hands to get the golden egg.

As soon as he got the heavy egg, he straightened up and flew away from the dragon. The pain was getting to him now and he started to slow down as screams exploded from the crowds.

"Did you see that?!" Bagman roared. "Our youngest champion got his egg the fastest!"

Harry watched from the sky how the dragon's caretakers rushed forward to calm down the spike-tailed dragon. Slowly Harry got down on the ground and from the enclosure's opening came professor McGonagall, professor Black and Hagrid. Both professor McGonagall and Hagrid were running while Morin was striding calmly. Harry almost fell on the ground but Hagrid caught him while congratulating him.

"You better hurry to the tent," McGonagall said. "Madam Pomfrey is waiting."

"I'll walk you there," Morin said and held out an arm.

Harry gratefully let the older man lead him away.

"You did great Harry," the man said.

"Yeah," the teen answered. "But that's thanks to 'Mione, Dray and Ron. And you professor."

"Me?"

"You gave me the hint," Harry said and smiled up at the Black. "Thanks."

"My pleasure."

-

Hermione was hanging around his neck, chanting 'You did it!' into his ear later on, after he had received his points. Charlie was congratulating him, Pansy was almost hanging around his neck as well and Ron, Draco, Blaise, Fred and George were all surrounding him.

"Harry," Charlie said finally. "Mr. Bagman wanted you in the tent afterwards."

"I better go," Harry said. "Would you two mind letting me go?"

Hermione and Pansy let go and Harry massaged his throat.

"We'll wait for you," Ron said. "Go on."

Harry went into the tent and Bagman beamed at him. The teen found that slightly irritating.

"Now, well done everyone!" he said. "I will only give you a short notice. The time for the next task is not until the 24th of February half past nine on the morning. But in the meantime you will be given something to think about! The golden eggs can actually be opened. Can you see the hinges? You have to find out what the secret inside the eggs are, because they will tell you what the second task is about. That way you'll get time to prepare for it. Has everyone understood? Are you sure? If you all are sure, then go along and celebrate with your friends!"

Harry walked out and was surrounded by his friends again. The twins promised a party and ran off beforehand. Harry pulled out the little model of the dragon from his pocket. Ron was carrying his broomstick and the blonde had not let him carry the egg so his hands were free. He let a finger stroke along the dragon's spine and the model seemed to relax.

"You're not so bad," Harry whispered to the model. "Just… stay that size, okay?"

The model just curled up with a huge yawn and puffs of smoke came out from its nostrils.

-

The days after the first task were like a bliss. Harry was almost floating on clouds. It was the beginning of December and snow had begun to fall. Not even classes seemed to be so hard now. Flitwick had congratulated him for a very good Accio performance and Harry felt his heart growing lighter for each day.

Then he heard about the Yule ball and how the champions were to lead the first dance, and all went downhill for a moment. First of all, Harry had never been on a ball before. Secondly, he could not dance. Third… how the hell did you ask a girl out? McGonagall had informed him about it and now he had to find a girl he could go with. However, it seemed like girls began to attack him, asking him if they could go with him.

"How am I supposed to be able to find anyone?" he said as he, Ron and Hermione was walking down for lunch a Friday. "It's only two weeks away!"

"Don't you think I have the same problem?" Ron said. "Fred and George have already their partners."

"Don't worry you two," Hermione chirped in. "Have you asked Parvati, Harry?"

"No," Harry admitted. "I hardly know her."

"She doesn't have anyone," Hermione said. "And she does have a twin that's free for the ball I think."

"Playing matchmaker?" Ron said with a grin.

"Just trying to find you a partner," the bushy-haired girl said with a blush.

"I think I'll ask her," Harry said. "Why don't you ask her sister Ron?"

"With my robes for the ball, no one wants to know me," Ron said with a groan.

"Come on, we can help you fix it up," Hermione said. "Right Harry?"

"Yeah," the teen said. "It's not that hard."

They continued to discuss all the way down to the Great Hall when they saw the commotion. Hoards of students were gathered around a piece of parchment. Draco came out from that hoard and ran up to them.

"Guess what?" he said.

"What is it?" the raven-haired boy said.

"We're going to see a real duel on Monday," Draco said. "An Auror will come. All students from year four to seven with DADA must be there. Morin just put it up."

"So we're going to see a demonstration of different spells?" Hermione said.

"Yep," the blonde said. "And it says we are going to have the 'class' until lunch, and then we have the afternoon free."

"Wicked!" the Weasley said.

"Too bad it wasn't on Tuesday," Harry said. "Then we would have missed Divination."

"Come on Harry, she just predicts your death and nothing else," the redhead said.

"I know, but I'm growing tired on it."

"Growing tired on what?" a voice said behind them.

The four turned around to look at the DADA professor, who had a tilted head. Harry recognized it as the expression when Morin was curious.

"Professor Trelawney predicts my death every class," Harry whined.

"That woman," Morin said. "I think I would fit better than her, and honestly I suck at Divination."

"What can you do?" Draco said.

"In Divination?"

"Yes."

"I've done a few predicaments," Morin said with a shrug. "You can say I'm somewhat of a seer."

"A seer?" Hermione said. "That means you get glimpses of the future!"

"Yes, but I haven't had one serious one in ages," Morin lied, smiled easily. "Harry, next time she predicts your death say that I've seen something bad will happen to her if she continues."

"Have you seen something then?" Harry asked.

"No, but I can make something bad happen to her if you want to."

The Gryffindor burst out in laughter at that, and the other three almost did as well. Morin just continued to smile and said:

"Hurry up and get some lunch. I'll see you three in class later. Draco, will you be with Severus tonight?"

"Yeah, probably," the Slytherin said.

"Then I'll see you tonight."

The Black turned away and walked towards his office.

"Let's go and get some lunch," Ron said.

"Have you two done the assignment professor Black gave us?" Hermione said with a stern voice.

"I did it on Wednesday," Harry said. "Professor Black offered to look through it and he said it was good."

"Great", the bushy-haired girl said. "And you Ron?"

"I made it yesterday," Ron said and held up his hands. "I'll leave it at the mercy of professor Black."

"I'll ask him to turn it to shreds," the blonde Slytherin said with a grin.

"Don't you dare!"

The Weasley and the blonde got into a glaring contest, but soon burst out in laughter. Harry was really happy that the two got along good with each other. It had taken some time, but now they were relaxed and could even joke to each other without growing angry.

"See you guys later," Draco said and with a ruffle of Harry's hair he walked into the hall.

-

Harry was filled of excitement as they were waiting for the Auror on Monday morning. The weekend had disappeared as a flash and his nerves about the ball had calmed down. He had asked Parvati and she had agreed with a small smile, saying she had not found anyone to go with and would be happy to go with him. Even Ron had collected Gryffindor courage and asked out Padma, Parvati's twin. She had also smiled and agreed.

Draco was sitting next to the teen, fidgeting. He was not really the patient one right now; the blonde wanted it to start _now_. Harry looked at his friend, a bit amused.

They were in the Great Hall, and a sort of scene was put up by the Head Table. The students sat huddled in groups and the level of noise was high. Suddenly the doors opened and everyone turned their heads. Morin came in company with a man with brown hair, brown eyes and dressed in a formal robe. They went up on the scene and Morin said:

"Morning everyone. Today you are going to see some of the spells we have gone through, and to my help I have the Auror David Grindled. Professor Snape will also join us soon when you are going to practice on the protection spells we have discussed."

The students were all listening to every word. Morin took off his outer robe and threw it aside, continuing:

"Now, as we are about to begin, look carefully at everything. Take notes of spells if you wish."

He now turned to David and nodded. The Auror threw aside his own robe, drawing out his wand and they bowed shortly to each other. Immediately David threw a blood-seeping curse and Hermione slapped her hands over her mouth in horror. Morin called out softly:

"Protego."

The spell bounced away from Morin, and he attacked this time. The pair continued flashing off curses and the students held their breaths. Their fluid movements, the perfect protection spells and the rapid speed impressed them all. Morin dodged, moved left and right, jumping up when he had to and almost dropped to the floor when necessary. David himself did the same, but had a harder time defending against Morin's powerful spells.

Finally they finished, Morin holding his wand against the Auror's throat, and the students all cheered on them. Morin took a few deep breaths, put away his wand and smiled at the Auror. David smiled back and said:

"You haven't lost your touch, Morin. I now understand why you were said to be the strongest."

"Nonsense David," the Black said. "Did every one of you follow the protection spells?"

Some answered while some looked away with blushes and Morin continued:

"It's alright if you didn't. Me, David and… Oh, Severus, just in time. The three of us will help you."

The potions master stalked to the front with his billowing robes.

"Now," Morin began, "for the easiest one…"

-

At lunch, the talking in the hall was louder than ever. Those responsible for that were the students who had spent their morning in the hall with Morin, David and Snape. They were discussing the spells they had seen and the different spells they had been taught. Hermione was caught up in scribbling down different spells while eating.

"And we got to see an Imperius!" Ron said. "That was awesome! You could see immediately when David was under it."

"I must say professor Black planned this good", the bushy-haired girl said. "He even put up shields in case any of their spells during the duel would come towards us. I'm glad I asked him about them."

"Are you writing down every single spell they did?" Harry asked with a chuckle.

"Not everyone," Hermione said with a huff but smiled. "Just the most normal ones that can show up in a duel with a dark wizard."

Ron shook his head at her. Fred and George were writing something down as well and were talking to each other in low tones. Harry heard they mention Bagman's name and looked at them. Then he shrugged and looked away.

As they walked out from the hall intending to have a relaxing evening, Draco caught up with them. Blaise and Pansy was not far behind the blonde.

"Hi guys," Draco said and slung an arm around Harry's shoulders. "Do you think I can borrow Harry for a while?"

"Depends what you are going to do with me," the Gryffindor said.

"I have to do some homework," Draco said, "and I want some company."

"You have Blaise and Pansy," Hermione said.

"We're kinda busy," Pansy said with an apologetic shrug. "We three are working on a project, and Draco has already done his part. Me and Blaise haven't finished yet."

"It's okay," Harry said. "I can be with you if you want it Dray."

"Thanks," the blonde said. "I got my books already, so we can go to the library."

"See you later then, mate," Ron said.

"Be careful both of you," Hermione warned.

"Yes mother," they said at the same time.

The six of them parted, two to the Gryffindor common room, two to the Slytherin common room and two to the library.

-

Harry was reading a book the potions professor had recommended for him, since he was still not so good in Potions. The book was interesting and he learned much more than before. Maybe because this time he accepted the knowledge; before he refused to have anything to do with potions.

Draco was sitting next to him, scribbling down something on a parchment. The silence in the library was comforting, and madam Pince seemed to not be bothered by the two of them.

After around an hour Draco put the quill down with a content sigh.

"Finished?" Harry said and peered up from his book.

"Yeah," the blonde said. "I don't know why they bother giving us homework like this; I write it down but I don't get what I've written."

"That's the point of homework," Harry said as he stood up. "You're not supposed to get it."

-

They were walking through the corridor when the castle started to shake. After a few seconds it stilled.

"What was that?" Draco asked.

"I don't know, but it felt… familiar."

"The explosions?"

As Harry was about to answer, the answer came to them; an explosion made them fall to the ground.

"What's going on?!" Draco screamed.

Harry just tried to get the blonde up as the ceiling had begun to crack. But then he felt the floor underneath them starting to crack as well.

"Dray, we have to get up now!" the Gryffindor screamed.

They heard other screaming, and the occasional yell from a professor. The floor began to crack even more and without a warning, they almost fell. Harry clung on to the floor as his feet dangled in empty air. He looked down; it was a big, round room with stacks of boxes. A storage room. But it was too far down; they would surely die if they fell. Draco was hanging on to some iron barns with bleeding hands. Harry tried to get up, but it was futile. He slid down even more, out of view from anyone. He filled his oxygen-starved lungs a few times to calm down and then screamed:

"Help!"

-

Morin cast spell after spell, trying to keep the ceilings and floors intact as he was running down the halls. Students were screaming and he encouraged them to get out. He almost ran into Fleur who was trying to convince her friends to get out. Her friends, however, were terrified. She looked up at him and said:

"They won't listen to me!"

Morin cast another spell as the ceiling began to crack and turned to her friends.

"Do you want to die?" he asked.

"No!" one of her friends screamed out.

"Then listen to miss Delacour and get out!" he said. "That, or the ceiling will crush you!"

They hesitated for a moment but then they followed the blonde woman. Morin ran a hand through his hair and cast a few more spells. These explosions were not normal; what made them happen, and in Hogwarts? The castle was protected against this, right?

He almost thought his heart would stop when he heard Harry call for help. Morin ran down the stairs, growled as they began to change place and swiftly jumped down between them. Catching himself on one of them, he sprinted down them and came to a new corridor, seeing a hole in the floor and stared at it. When he last walked this corridor, there was not a freaking hole in it. Closing in, he hoped the hole was not going to get bigger on his watch.

"Harry?" he called out softly.

"Morin?" Harry's voice sounded so small.

"Yes, it's me," the Black said. "Are there any shadows near you, any black spots?" He could not get closer to the hole, he would not risk it breaking more.

"Y-yeah." The teen was heard again. After a short pause, "Draco is here as well."

"Do you think you can get Draco over to you?"

Harry shifted and looked at the blonde, who had been listening. As on cue, Harry released one hand as Draco did the same. Draco caught the smaller hand and Harry said:

"I'm holding onto him right now."

Morin kneeled down on the floor, placed his hands on his own shadow and let himself get surrounded by blackness. Reappearing by a shadow near the raven-haired teen, he stayed half-inside of the blackness to not accidently fall down himself. He gently took a hold of Harry and said to the Slytherin:

"Come a bit closer. You can lose your grip."

Draco dared to move a bit and hissed as he injured his hand further. But soon Harry was clutching onto Draco's shoulder and arm, and Morin said:

"Hold on now."

They disappeared into the shadows and came out at a safe distance from the hole. As soon as they were out, both of them clung to Morin.

"It's okay now. Draco, your hands…"

Morin let Harry hug his waist and moved Draco's hands. They were bleeding and the wounds were dirty. Morin cast a few spells over them before cleaning the wounds and putting some bandages on them.

"The professors agreed to get everyone outside, so let's go," the Black said.

The blonde got up on his own, but the Gryffindor could not move. Morin eased himself up and picked up Harry with such gentle hands the man himself was surprised. He felt a hand and arm underneath his knees and an arm around his shoulder, wounding his own around Morin's neck.

Making sure that Draco stayed near, and Morin was moving away from the hole and to find an exit from the school. He quickly found another way to the Entrance doors and stepped out in the chilly air. Most of the students were already there, crying or calling out for someone. Morin quickly steered Draco to Pomfrey and said to the medic witch:

"His hands are damaged. I only cleaned and put bandages over the wounds."

Pomfrey nodded and gently examined the blonde's hands. Morin used this time to slowly let down Harry and look around for the boy's friends. However, he really did not need it.

"Harry!"

The Black turned his head and saw the Weasley twins coming. Fred had some scratches on him and George's left arm was in a sling. Harry looked up at the calling of his name, hands still clenching Morin's robes and said weakly:

"Fred… George."

"Are you alright Harry?" Fred asked. "Hermione and Ron are worried. Hell, most of us were."

"Harry," the older man said. "How about you let go of my robe now?"

"Sorry…" The teen's hands were shaking as they let go and the Black gently caught them. Harry looked at the bony hands that held his own shaking ones.

"It's alright to be afraid," Morin said. "If you and Draco had fallen, you would most likely not have survived the fall."

Harry nodded, he knew that already. Draco was released from the witch's hands and got to them.

"They all want to make sure you're alright," George said.

"Go with them," Morin said gently into Harry's ear.

Harry squeezed Morin's hands and smiled a bit.

"Okay," he whispered and let go.

-

Harry and Draco were lead through the crowds of students by the Weasley twins and soon they heard shouts of their names. In an instant, several people were over them. Hermione, Ron, Blaise, Pansy and Neville were the first. Then Harry's classmates came and asked if he was alright, and it felt like he had to answer 'Yes' thousands of times. Finally he was left alone and Hermione hugged him again.

"We got so worried," she whispered. "And then Fred and George said they saw you with professor Black and that you were held by him…"

"I was scared," Harry admitted.

Ron was clasping his shoulder and Harry was thankful for the contact. He looked over at the blonde, who smiled a bit shakily at him. Then the Slytherin spotted someone and called out:

"Severus!"

Harry turned around and saw the potions master coming. Worry was etched on the man's face. Draco left his friends and was embracing Snape in no time. The potions professor looked up and said:

"Everyone is to gather in the Great hall. Come along."

They all began to move. Just as Harry walked past, Snape stopped him.

"Morin said you and Draco found yourself in quite a dangerous situation," the man said.

"Kinda," the boy said and looked at the blonde. "We couldn't get up from the hole without professor Black's help."

"Travelling in the shadows feels strange," the Slytherin mumbled from around Snape's waist.

"Yeah," Harry said. "Feels like you're not in your own body, you're just floating around."

The professor smiled a bit at them, squeezed an arm around the Gryffindor and then led the two of them into the castle again.

-

The students were all gathered in the hall and Dumbledore rose up.

"Everyone," he said and it got quiet. "We have yet to locate the source, but the castle is stable thanks to professor Black's protection spells he laid on the ceilings, floors and walls. We expect to have sorted this out in a month. You are all allowed to return to your dorms. Classes will not begin until after lunch tomorrow."

The students moved out from the hall, glad for it to be over. Harry stayed behind with Draco, since the blonde wanted to speak to Snape and Morin. Both of the professors noticed this, and quickly made their way to them.

"What's wrong Draco?" the potions master said and kneeled down.

"When I was in that hole," Draco said, "I heard something."

"Heard something?" Morin said.

"Not from the storage room or any other places above us," the blonde said. "It was distant, like far underneath the ground."

"What was it?" Snape asked with a frown.

"Voices," Draco said. "They were calling out for someone."

"For who?"

Draco looked up at Morin and said:

"They called your name, Morin. Over and over again, they called your name."

Tbc…

* * *

**EDITED 2010-01-13**

Until later,

Ja,

Tiro


	8. Ch 7: Christmas is a magic thing

**Reverse of a Dark Future**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Harry Potter, JK Rowling does. She is a wonderful author and I love her Harry Potter books. I do not own any of the persons in this fic **except** for Morin Black. He's mine, I created him!

**Spoilers**: Um, book four and five. Only a bit though in the fourth book, and book five does not happen in this fic except that I mention some things and some creatures you should be aware about. Good if you have read up to book five. Book six or seven does not happen at all.

It's not spoilers, but I will warn you that all of the characters will be a bit different. The most major ones are Snape, Draco, the Weasley twins, Percy and Voldemort. Oh, and Harry will be a bit different, and I warn you it will be a bit mental abuse from the Dursleys directed to our little Harry.

And beware, because I am an evil girl and I have changed Voldemort's past!

Not everything will center on Harry, but most of the time it will together with Morin. Morin is involved in Harry's whole life and they will get close to each other. But some parts will be all Morin, but I will not make this fic so it will only be about Morin, don't worry.

**Pairings**: Slight pairing between Morin and Voldemort.

-

**EDITED 2010-01-13**

-

**Chapter Seven: Christmas is a magic thing**

The school resumed its normal schedule after a few days, even though the students talked about the explosions a lot.

Neither Harry nor Draco had gotten an answer out of the Black. He had just gone pale after Draco's sentence and then just turned and left with an 'I need to go and check something.'

The Yule ball was closing in and Ron was horrified thinking of his robes to that night. Harry and Hermione looked up a few spells and started on the robe. They removed the smell it had and the more feminine details on it, as it had been bought second-hand and looked, well, ridiculous. When they were finished, the robe looked almost normal. Hermione let it keep the colour it had, since she thought it would match Ron's hair. Harry took a good look at the robe Molly had bought him; deep-green, almost like one of Morin's robes. He sighed and put the robe down as he thought of his DADA professor. The man knew something about the explosions. But Harry had learned that looking into it would not give you any answers; especially when you are dealing with the mysterious Morin Black.

-

Harry woke up on Christmas by a pillow thrown by Ron. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, shooting a brief glare at the redhead.

"Good morning!" Ron called out, ignoring the glare and grinned.

"Morning," Harry said with a yawn and took on his glasses. He looked down from his bed on the presents he had gotten. He blinked.

"Ron," he said.

"Yes?" the Weasley said back.

"Is it only me, or do I have more presents than usual?"

Ron got up and looked at the pile. He blinked as well, and walked over, crouching down so he could see better.

"You're right," the redhead said. "Those are from mum, that one must be from Hagrid, and that one from your bloody relatives. What?" Harry was looking at him sternly. "Don't look at me like that, I know you don't like them very much either. That one is mine, and that's Hermione's. So… whose are the rest?"

Harry sank down and said:

"There's only one way I'll find out I guess."

Ron patted his friend on the shoulder with a smile; the light and happiness in Harry's eyes was the best present the redhead could ever get.

Harry began with those he knew. He got pies and a sweater from Molly; the sweater had a dragon motive and Harry smiled before looking at the model dragon he had. The Horntail stared back at him. He held up the sweater and said:

"Look. That's you."

The model blinked a few times and Ron laughed as he saw who Harry was talking to. Harry stuck out his tongue at his friend and put the sweater down. With great effort, the model got enough air under its wings and flew to Harry's shoulder.

"You know," Ron said, "I think that dragon likes you."

"I like them this size," Harry declared and referred to the model dragon.

He got a box from Hagrid filled with his favourite sweets; Sugar Quills, Chocolate Frogs, Bertie Botts' Every Flavour Beans and a bar of Honeydukes' finest chocolate. He got Sugar Quills and a book about Quidditch from Ron, a book about rare potions from Hermione (he had to thank her later on; he had really wanted this book), a pocket-knife that could open locks from Sirius, a book about defence from Remus, and last he got a paper handkerchief from the Dursleys. A bottom record for them.

He now took a good look at the other presents. Six of them. Six more present than usual. Harry reached for the first one.

"Who's it from?" the redhead asked.

"It's from Draco," the teen answered in delight. "I got a present from Draco!"

"It's only natural," Ron said. "You gave him one, didn't you?"

"Yeah, but I didn't expect one in return," the raven-haired Gryffindor said.

Ron shook his head at his friend's naïve nature and then said:

"Thanks for the book Harry. And the sweets."

"Don't eat them all up right now; you'll only get a stomach-ache," Harry warned. "And thanks for the Quidditch-book."

"My pleasure."

Harry opened the present from Draco and his smile widened into a grin. Inside was a photo-album. During the summer, Draco had enjoyed himself by taking pictures and that interest had continued even though the school had started.

Harry picked up the album and opened it. The first picture was on Draco and Harry; the teen remembered how Draco had gotten Morin to take it. The blonde and the raven-haired boy were sitting in the grass, playing chess. Harry turned the pages and looked lovingly at the pictures. One picture made him stop for a while. It was on him and Morin. The Black was sitting on his desk with Harry leaning on it next to him, both of them smiling at the camera. Another picture flashed through his memory; the same blurry person as in his dream holding an infant. He could almost see the faint smile on the person's lips directed towards the infant, almost see who it was and then the picture was lost. Had it been Morin?

Harry shook his head and bit and put away the album. He would really thank Draco for that one. He reached for the next, and was a bit shocked that it was from Pansy. He opened it though and out fell two mirrors. A note attached to one of them caught his attention. He picked it up and read:

_Harry, this is two-ways mirrors. Give one to someone you care about, and keep the other. The mirrors will allow you to talk to each other, even if the other person is on the other side of the world. Just speak the person's name and they will know._

He looked at the mirrors. They must have cost a great deal. He picked them up carefully and reminded himself to thank Pansy as well. He had not given her a gift, so he would think out one later. He put the mirrors on top of the album and was not surprised that the next one was from Blaise. The Slytherin boy had given him something called 'The Ring of Protection'. It had four bands on it, and the note that followed with it explained that he could put one spell on each band. Harry stared at it for a long time; then he slipped it on and it immediately changed so it fit his finger perfectly. He picked up the next and gasped. Snape. He had gotten a present from the potions master?

"Harry?" Ron asked.

"This is from professor Snape," Harry offered weakly as an explanation.

"Snape?" the redhead said. "Whoa, let me sit down for a moment."

The Weasley stared into space for a while, then snapped out of it and looked at the raven-haired boy who was still staring at the present and said:

"Well… are you going to open it?"

Harry made a grunt and ripped off the papers. It was a big wooden box with his full name engraved on it. He opened the lid and felt his eyes watering.

Inside was a whole set of quills, ink and parchments. The ink bottles had the name 'James Potter' engraved and even one was with 'Lily Evans'. The quills looked old, but no really used that much and Harry had no doubt they belonged to his parents as well. The parchments looked new though. Underneath the parchments there was something else and Harry lifted them up. It was a journal of some kind. He picked it up and saw his name in silver engraved. A journal for himself?

A note fell out and the Gryffindor picked it up and read:

_I was not sure what to give you when Albus mentioned you had very little from your parents. As you can see the ink bottles and quills belonged to your parents, and the journal was a gift from them that you would be given when you were older. Take good care of them._

_Merry Christmas,_

_Severus Snape_

Harry hugged the journal close and smiled. He put the wooden box and the things that was inside next to his other presents and took the one closest. There was no indication of who it was from. He took away the paper and revealed the box. It was a small wooden box with the names of his parents on the lid. Harry sat quiet for so long that Ron walked over to him. The boy was shaking as tears poured down his cheeks. Ron sat down behind Harry and put his hands on his friend's shoulders. Harry took a few gulping breaths and opened the lid. Inside were two necklaces, one with a golden griffin and one with a silver doe. Harry took them up with shaking hands, and slumped against the Weasley as his body suddenly could not keep itself up.

"It's a note with them," Ron said gently.

The raven-haired teen looked at there was indeed a note. He picked it up and it read:

_Don't forget them._

Three words. Three small words and they made Harry cry uncontrollably. Ron tightened his hold on his friend and was now hugging the sobbing teen.

"It's alright," the redhead whispered.

The raven-haired teen turned his head so it was resting on Ron's shoulder and they did not speak until Harry's tears had run out. Then he sniffed gently and clasped the necklaces, his parents' necklaces, tightly. He never wanted to let them go.

"Who could have sent them?" Ron said. "I don't recognize the handwriting."

But Harry did. He had seen those elegant letters so many times before. He could even see in front of him how they were written, the exact stroke of the quill. After all, he had watched the man's handwriting for almost five months. Morin.

"I know who it is from," Harry whispered hoarsely.

"How do you know?"

"You don't forget a handwriting like this man," the smaller of the two said. "He has a style unlike anyone else." But for some reason, his notes scribbled down on essays had a different style than the one Harry saw mostly, however the teen did not question it.

"Who is it?"

"Secret."

Ron huffed but did not question it further. Instead he smiled a bit at his friend as Harry was smiling himself.

"You got one left," the redhead said with a nudge.

"I know."

Harry put down the necklaces into the box again along with the note, closed the lid and put it away. He then took the last gift into his hands while Ron slid to sit next to him. It was wrapped in black wrapping and Ron snorted.

"Looks like a funeral gift," the Weasley said.

"Looks like a gift in Morin Black-style," Harry commented.

He took away the wrapping and tore open the paper box. He pulled out a worn-looking wooden box with a beautiful carved-out picture on it. Harry opened the lid, and a soft melody began to play (A/N I dunno what kind of melody you're thinking of, but I'm thinking on the melody 'Once Upon A December' in the movie Anastasia). The raven-haired looked at the figures moving around with the melody. It was two people dancing, not really following any kind of dance but just seeming to have a good time. The third was standing still, looking at the two dancers. Harry could not see the faces of two who was dancing, since the faces seemed to have been erased. The third one had pale skin, sharp features and emerald eyes that seemed to eye them sadly, like he wanted to join them but could not.

He could hear Ron murmur 'Beautiful' next to him but he was only aware of the melody and the three figures. The small box seemed to emit an aura of eerie light and Harry let it play for a long time. He then put it down, lid still open so that the melody would not stop and reached for the note that had fallen out. He smoothed it out and read:

_Harry,_

_This gift may seem insignificant at the moment but it has __saved my life more than once. When you get older you will understand. The characters inside changes depending on the owner. Right now the ask is still mine, but tap on it twice with your wand and say: With the permission of Morin Black, this item has been granted me. Then the characters shall change to your important people and don't try to hide; the box can read your heart. As you see, I had only two important people. And when the faces are erased, that means the person has died in one way or another. Take good care of it for me. It was given to me when I was fourteen by Albus Dumbledore, and now I pass it on to someone who may need it more than I._

_Morin _

Harry got up, collected his wand and then sat back in front of the box.

"What are you doing?" Ron asked.

The raven-haired boy did not answer but tapped on it twice with his wand and said:

"With the permission of Morin Black, this item has been granted me."

The three characters disappeared immediately in small swirls and soon others showed up. Harry watched in fascination how the small space got crowded by small figures. Himself, Hermione, Ron, Draco, the Weasley twins, Pansy, Blaise, Neville, Snape and Morin.

"Wicked!" Ron said. "What did you do?"

"Morin wrote what I was supposed to say," Harry said and looked at the figures. He had so many important people and Morin had so few, and those had already died and left the older man alone. What had happened to the Black when he was younger?

-

While Ron went to the shower Harry sat down on the bed in deep thought. He had to think out presents for Blaise, Pansy, Snape and Morin. Not because he felt he had to, but he wanted to. Pansy would probably like most things he could think off. She was not such a demanding person. Blaise… he was going to be a bit tricky. The teen was never sure of what his Slytherin friend liked.

This was going to be harder than the Gryffindor thought. He could buy Pansy anything, but he wanted it to be a good one and he had to think out Blaise's really carefully. Harry sighed; why did Blaise have the need to be so tricky?

What about Snape? Technically he had given Harry things from Lily and James, but Harry had appreciated the seemingly pointless gift so much. Harry thought of a good book, since he had seen the potions master read a lot.

Then he only had Morin left. He had no idea what to give the man. He had given Harry two wonderful gifts, and the teen did not think he ever could thank him enough. He recalled a Hogsmeade visit a few days later, and settled to try finding something then.

-

Hermione had been enchanted by the melody from the box Morin had given Harry, and the raven-haired teen could not help but laugh as others joined her. The Weasley twins were two of these people.

"Where did you get it?" George asked.

"Professor Black gave it to me," the raven-haired teen said. "He wrote it belonged to him when he was younger."

Fred looked at the small figures inside the small box and ruffled Harry's hair as he saw the happiness in the younger teen's eyes.

"Well, it seems to work well against people," the redhead said with a chuckle. "Let it continue and you'll have the whole House under its' control."

Soon others came and asked what it was. Parvati seemed also like it a lot and voiced her thoughts that it was too bad her sister could not hear. Padma apparently loved those kinds of melodies.

"The box isn't very big," Harry said, "so I think I can take it with me. She can listen on it tonight."

"Really?" Parvati asked. "It wouldn't be a problem?"

"Not at all," the raven-haired teen replied.

"Thanks!" the girl said. "She'll love it, I just know it!"

-

Hermione wanted to see the other gifts Harry had been given as well, and blushed when he thanked her over and over again for the book.

At the moment, they were seated on Harry's bed, he, the bushy-haired girl and three redheads. Hermione felt a bit out of place but Harry had assured her she did not need to go anywhere. Fred and George were looking through the photo album, while Hermione was admiring the ring Blaise had gotten the raven-haired Gryffindor.

"Have you decided on any spells?" she asked.

"Not yet," Harry said. "I thought of discussing it with perhaps professor Black or professor Snape to see if they had any good recommendation."

"Smart choice," the girl said. "You said something about two-way mirrors. Who are you going to share it with?"

"I'm thinking of Sirius," Harry replied quietly. "I think he would like that."

"Like it?" Ron said. "I bet he would love it!"

"Really?" The raven-haired teen's voice was hopeful.

"I think so too," Hermione said.

"Yeah, we too," the twins said.

Harry had told the twins about his godfather so that he could speak about Sirius in their presence. Now Harry smiled and began to wonder how to get the mirror to Sirius safely. Should he first send a letter, and then send the mirror if Sirius approved? Or should he just send the mirror with a message?

"Heh, Draco is really good with the camera," George commented. "He even got one on Snape and Morin."

"He did?" Harry said and scooted over. He had no seen that one. "Let me see."

Fred gave Harry the photo album and the teen looked. It was in the potions master's home according to the note underneath the picture. Morin and Snape were simply standing and currently the two figures were talking to each other. But what made the picture more special was that faint smile and slightly happiness that lingered over the older man; it was a rare thing to be able to catch.

"It's a nice one," Harry commented. "I can't believe he gave me all of these pictures."

"Come on," Fred said. "He wanted to, I guess. How about we go down for breakfast and you can thank them for the gifts?"

Harry nodded eagerly.

-

The day passed quickly, with lots of laughter and teasing. Harry had even succeeded bringing a smile to the potions professor's lips. That was not easily done.

At the moment, they were outside. The three Slytherins were against the Weasleys and Hermione in a snow ball fight, while the two professors and Harry were standing a bit away. Morin turned to Harry and asked:

"Did you like the gifts?"

Harry did not understand at first, why did Morin ask such a silly question, but then he looked into the man's eyes. Nervousness. The man absently pulled at his sleeves, covering his hands and let his gaze fall on the children again.

The truth dawned down on the teen; Morin had probably not given anyone a gift for many years. He gently tugged on the Black's sleeve, silently asking him to kneel down. Morin complied, although a little confused. Harry whispered into Morin's ear:

"I. Loved. Them. Thank you very much for them."

Morin's aura seemed to burst with light, and even Snape turned to look at the older man. Fortunately, none of the fighting teens a bit away noticed. Morin smiled at the teen and said:

"I'm not very good with gifts, but I'm happy I succeeded."

"You succeeded very well," Harry said.

"Not just with Harry's," the other professor said while he was watching Draco and Blaise flung snow balls at the Weasley twins with equal grins on their faces. "You did a very good job with mine. And I heard Draco was bragging about his gift you gave him."

Sometimes Harry wondered if Snape always knew what to say. It seemed to be the right thing to tell Morin, since the DADA professor was unusually giddy after that.

-

When the night began to approach, and with that the ball, Harry showered and put on his robe. He carefully took the melody box and put it in his pocket before turning to Ron. The Weasley was absently looking at his robe and said:

"You and 'Mione did a good job on it."

"Thanks," the teen said. "Was she going out with Krum?"

"Yeah," the redhead answered. "I think she's already down there with him."

"Let's go then."

Parvati was waiting for Harry dressed beautifully. She smiled and they went down. Padma met them on the way and was dressed in a similar dress as her sister; the only difference was that Padma had a darker shade of red than Parvati.

They went to the Great hall and there were already a large number of people in there. Blaise, Pansy and Draco stood by the door, and the three smiled at Harry. He smiled back and led Parvati further inside. The four champions were shown to the Head Table and Parvati seemed a bit nervous.

"Don't worry," Harry said to her.

"But I'm not really good at dancing," the girl whispered.

"Me neither, but we'll make it."

Her body relaxed and her smile seemed more real after that.

-

Harry thought it could have been much, much worse. Parvati was actually a very nice person, and even flirted a bit with Blaise. The Slytherin had flirted back. Harry had only laughed at the two of them, and continued playing the melody to Padma. The girl had been enchanted just like Hermione. Said girl was dancing with the Bulgarian champion, smiling widely. Ron was sitting next to his two brothers, who had dressed up identically just for teasing people. So far they had been very good at it.

"It's a very harmonic melody," Padma said. "I've never heard anything like it."

"Neither had anyone I played it for," the raven-haired Gryffindor admitted. "But it seems like it has the same effect on everyone."

"It's easy to relax to this tone," the girl said thoughtfully, then laughed a bit and continued, "I'd believe even monsters would stop chasing you if you let this music play."

Harry thought back at Morin's words in the note. It had saved the man's life more than once… Was he referring to an accident and had the melody stopped it?

"Can I have a look at it?" Padma asked.

The boy nodded and she took it with very carefully. She held it gently in her hands, letting her fingers follow the worn patterns on the box while the melody played on. She was softly humming as the melody continued.

-

Parvati and Padma had both been begged to dance by some students from Beauxbatons and had left Harry and Ron alone. Not that the boys complained. Harry was happy someone else better on dancing could be with Parvati. She seemed to have a good time. Hermione came over and said:

"Viktor is going to get us drinks. Mind if we sit here?"

"Nope," Ron and Harry answered.

"Thanks. By the way Harry, did you play the melody for Padma?"

"Yes, why?"

"Even Viktor seemed to hear it for a second. He was totally lost in it. I don't think Karkaroff liked that though."

Harry turned to look at the Head Table and Hermione was right. Karkaroff sneered when he saw the Gryffindor and his eyes promised murder. That was until Morin stared the man down with a glare better than the terrifying potions professor.

"I think professor Snape got competition," Harry said with a nervous laugh.

"What?" Ron and Hermione asked.

"Morin is better at glaring than professor Snape."

"You know, professor Snape is going to have a hard time being worse than Morin,, the Weasley said.

"Well, Morin scares people by smiling in inappropriate situations," Harry said. "Professor Snape is just downright terrifying, hiding in the shadows."

"Having fun comparing me and Morin?"

They whipped their heads and looked up at the potions master.

"You're in for a hard game professor," Hermione commented. "Good luck."

Harry held thumbs-up and said:

"Don't disappoint us sir."

"That would totally ruin your image, professor," the redhead finished.

Snape's face was blank for a moment before he chuckled and shook his head at their antics. Both Hermione and Ron were surprised for a moment, but Harry just grinned back at the man.

-

Harry and Ron had escorted back the twins around eleven on the night as they were going to leave for their home the next day but came back to the Great hall where the ball was still running high. Ron was still chuckling at his friend who growled at him. Draco got up and asked:

"What happened?"

"He got all shocked!" Ron said with a laugh.

"Shut it!" Harry said.

"What happened?" Pansy said.

"Parvati gave him a kiss on the cheek," the Weasley said and Harry went red before said teen growled again and with a scowl sat down.

"What?!" Draco exclaimed. "You got kissed?! So unfair!"

The Weasley twins laughed as Harry tried to sink lower down. Blaise waggled his eyebrows to the Gryffindor, which made him stick out his tongue at the Slytherin. Hermione came to the table with Viktor, who for once did not look sour and grumpy. The Gryffindor girl and the Bulgarian greeted on them all before sitting down. Ron could not help but retell the story and Harry nearly jumped up and strangled his redheaded friend. Luckily, both Draco and Fred restrained him.

-

"Seems like they're enjoying themselves," Morin commented to the potions master.

Snape turned his eyes to where the older man was looking and saw the group of nine people who were talking and laughing. No one of them seemed keen to dance. Harry was sitting on his chair like a child, legs underneath him while leaning over the table to discuss something with the Bulgarian. Even though they fought against each other, none of the two seemed hostile against the other. Draco and Ron were discussing something with the twins while Blaise seemed to be constantly dragged into a discussion by Pansy and Hermione.

"I never thought a stranger group would get along so nicely," the potions master said.

The two of them were standing a bit away from all the people, like two shadows. Morin had shed his normally heavy robes and had a light emerald green robe on, clasped onto his black shirt by two silver chains. The chains connected to each other by an emerald pendant. Snape always wondered where Morin actually came from; wherever he was, the older man was always dressed like a royalty. However, Snape felt like he was imitating Morin. He also wore a green robe, the same colour in the Slytherin colour with a silver chain. But underneath he had the same black shirt and trousers.

The potions master glanced at the Black. He did look like someone of importance. Even the way he stood indicated that.

"Morin, I've always wondered where you got those earrings from."

The older man was shaken out of his thoughts by Snape's words and one hand went to absently pull gently on the silver earring.

"Actually… Albus gave me these."

"Albus?"

"Yes," Morin said and looked at the old Headmaster. "He always insisted on Christmas presents, even after I had finished school."

"What do you give him?" Snape asked curiously.

"What he always wants; a pair of socks. Unmatched of course because he can't keep two socks of the same colour for long anyway."

Snape did not really care whether Morin was telling the truth or not; he just burst into laughter and Morin smiled.

-

Around half past two the group finally decided to go to bed. Since Viktor had to go to the ship, he actually asked Ron to take Hermione to the Tower. The redhead had said it was okay. Draco waved lazily to the half-asleep Harry as the three Slytherins went towards the dungeons. Harry waved back with an absent 'See you at breakfast'. Fred and George walked near the raven-haired Gryffindor as he stumbled a few times because of tiredness. Hermione and Ron was walking a bit ahead of them, talking.

It did not take Harry many minutes to fall asleep when he had fallen into his bed.

-

The whole school seemed to wake up late. Some of the students left with the morning train to spend the rest of the holiday with their families, so Harry woke up to a dorm with only himself, Ron and Neville. The two others had not woken up so he dressed and went down to the common room. Hermione was sitting by the fire, reading the book Harry had given her. It was about the rights of different magical creatures. She was alone except for two sleepy Weasley twins.

"Morning Harry," she said.

"Morning," he said and sat down by her. "I need a little help."

"Oh? With what?"

"I want to find late gifts for Pansy, Blaise, professor Snape and Morin," the Gryffindor teen said. "When the Hogsmeade visit comes."

"That's two days from now," Hermione said with cocked head.

"I know," Harry said, "but I have trouble thinking what they want."

"Alright."

Hermione put aside the book and rooted through her bag. She pulled out some catalogues and said:

"These are from the different shops in Hogsmeade. Not all of them, but you may find something in here for Pansy and Blaise. I don't know about the professors."

"I was thinking of a book to Snape," Harry said. "But to Morin I have no clue."

"He seems to be a bit hard to find something at all," the bushy-haired girl agreed.

Fred suddenly plopped down next to Harry, and George followed suit, into Fred's lap. The first redhead grunted but made sure George did not fall down. Harry looked at them and said:

"Any suggestions of a gift meant for Morin?"

"Tricky question," George said.

"He seems to have everything and yet nothing," Fred continued.

"You know ,you aren't really helping me," Harry muttered.

Fred shifted George a bit and looked into the fire for a while. Then he said:

"He seems to demand so little that you have no idea what to give him."

"Yeah," the younger teen said and slumped down. "You're right about that."

"He seems to enjoy emerald objects," George said. "He has an awful amount of them."

"That's true," the raven-haired one said. "I just have to wish myself luck on his gift."

"Now, on for Pansy and Blaise," Hermione said.

Harry nodded and picked up a catalogue.

-

Harry was walking around in Hogsmeade, trying to find a gift for Snape and Morin. He had found for Pansy and Blaise. The Slytherin girl would get a book about prank potions, since she seemed to like that. Then he had gotten a wand-holster for Blaise. The black-haired Slytherin had said those was very good to have, but he had not gotten himself one yet. So Harry had bought a beautiful, black wand-holster that changed after the person, so Blaise could have the holster wherever he wanted.

Harry stopped when he passed a bookshop. Might as well try his luck with Snape, and went inside. There was a large amount of people inside, but Harry was slim enough to slip through the crowds until he came to the books he thought the potions master would like. He let his eyes roam over the titles, and suddenly stopped as he saw a book named 'The Most Rare Potions Ingredients' by someone called Morinius. He took down the book and flipped through it. It was a very interesting book about where you could find these ingredients, how to best stock them and in which potions they could be used. There was a lot of information in the book, and no matter how many pages Harry turned the end did not seem to come. The book must have been charmed to make it easier to handle. The Gryffindor found it was a perfect gift for the potions master but for safety looked around a bit more to see if there was something else.

Finding none that would interest Snape, Harry thought if he needed anything else, finding he did not, and went to pay for the book. The clerk eyed him for a moment, missed the scar that was hidden underneath his fringe and said:

"What do you intend to do with the book, kid?"

"It's a gift for Hogwarts potions master, professor Snape," Harry said, thinking the truth would be easier. "I figured he would enjoy it."

"You're right about that one," the clerk said. "You got lucky; Severus hasn't seen the book yet, though he said he was coming later on. Want me to keep it a secret?"

"Yes please," the teen said. "I was going to give it to him later tonight, so it won't be a secret for long."

The clerk was even so nice he wrapped it up carefully for Harry.

"That will be 6 Galleons, sonny," the man said with a grin. "Normally it would cost 12 but you are an exception."

"Thanks but why?"

"You're the kid Severus spoke about," the clerk said. "Orphan, kinda small for his age and emerald eyes. He seems to like you."

"Professor Snape is nice," Harry said. "I like him too."

"Now hurry along", the man said. "He should be here in a few minutes."

"Thanks!"

Harry ran out with the gift carefully shrunk by the clerk and safely in his pocket. The clerk looked after the Gryffindor with a big smile. No wonder the potions master liked him; the boy seemed to shine with some light that even made the clerk's heart melt. And the clerk was not a very heart-warm person.

-

Harry was now walking in an antique shop. He still had an hour before he would meet up with the Weasley twins, Draco, Neville and Hermione. The others were still too tired to go.

He looked among all the strange objects, careful to not touch anything. It was a bit calmer than in the bookshop but there were still some people in the shop. The most annoying ones was a group of old women that seemed to comment on every jewellery by the front. The clerk was less than amused.

The boy stopped as he saw a necklace. It looked heavy but it was the motive that made him stare.

It was a miniature replica of the Gryffindor sword with a snake curling up around it. The snake was silver with emeralds to eyes, just like Slytherin. The sword had rubies at the handle and was in a shining gold, just like Gryffindor. The sword was around 10 centimetres. Harry did not know why but it seemed so like Morin. Even though it was a mix of Slytherin and Gryffindor it seemed to fit the older man so well.

"Excuse me?" he called out to the clerk.

"Yes?"

"May I have a look on this one?"

The clerk was silent for a while; whether it was because a teen even bothered to ask of permission or that it was something special about the necklace. Then he nodded and hurried to Harry's side. He unlocked the glass door with a tap of his wand and carefully got the necklace out.

"Seems strange for a youngster like you to be interested in this," the clerk said. "No one has ever cared about it for many years."

"Let me guess; house rivalry?"

"Right on the spot young one," the clerk said, amused.

"When I saw it, it reminded me about someone. Someone I love almost like a father."

"Is he a mix of Gryffindor and Slytherin?"

"I don't know that," Harry said. "I know he went in Slytherin when he was young but I have a feeling he fits in all houses."

"That's a rare combination," the clerk said. "I actually have a set of bracelets that was brought in with the necklace; would you like to have a look?"

"If it's not too much of a bother."

The clerk seemed eager and went to retrieve the bracelets. Harry let the necklace dangle in front of his face and admired it. It was very beautifully made.

The clerk came back with a box. Harry opened the box and his eyes widened. Two beautifully crafted bracelets rested on the silk, identical. They had a silver, Slytherin snake crawling around the golden surface. The eyes were emeralds, but a few rubies were here and there on the golden bracelets. The clerk seemed to like the boy's look; it was very long ago someone actually put house rivalry aside and admired these creations.

"How much do they cost?" Harry asked.

"For all three, I can give them to you for 30 Galleons."

30 Galleons? That was pretty cheap for gold and silver together with emeralds and rubies.

"You see," the clerk said, "no one has even bothered to look at these after seeing what they represent. Do you know what they represent?"

"Slytherin and Gryffindor joined together," Harry said immediately. "No differences between them and no hostility against each other."

The clerk's smile widened.

"You are quite a special child," the man said as they walked to the desk. "No one has ever said that. May I ask if you even go to Hogwarts?"

"I'm a fourth year Gryffindor," the raven-haired teen said. "But I have wonderful friends in Slytherin."

Harry could have laughed at the clerk if not it had seen to be offending. But really, seeing the man's jaw drop open was hilarious.

"Well, I've never encountered a Gryffindor that associates with Slytherins," the clerk said, "so forgive my surprise."

"I seem to like surprising people," Harry said. "I gave everyone quite a shock when I befriended a former enemy of mine in Slytherin."

"That was bravely done," the clerk said as he packed down the necklace in the box. "Should I wrap this for you?"

"Please," Harry said. "I suck at wrapping gifts, with or without my wand. And you may say it was my foolish Gryffindor pride that kept me from that friend earlier. He was never really bad. He was just a bit lonely."

"Being lonely can make you a bit strange. Would you like to tell me if the man likes this gift?"

"On the next Hogsmeade visit I can drop by," Harry said, "umm… Mr--?"

"Forgive my manners," the man said. "I'm Alberom Diggles."

"Harry Potter."

"I suspected it might be you when I saw that scar," Alberom said with a smile. "It'll be 30 Galleons then."

Harry put the coins on the desk and said:

"Thanks. At first I never thought I was going to find anything to him."

"This shop has many things," the man said still smiling, happy someone liked his shop.

"I'll remember that."

Harry took the present and with a wide smile at Alberom, excited the shop. He had no idea he had melted the heart of yet another shopkeeper.

-

"You found something to Morin?" Draco said. "Wicked."

"What did you get him?" Hermione asked.

"Secret," Harry answered. "You won't know until later."

"Don't be so mean!" Fred whined. "Just spill it!"

"Nope."

"How about the gift for Sev?" Draco asked.

"It's a book," the Gryffindor said as he took another sip of his water before continuing with his lunch.

"What kind of book?" Hermione asked, interested.

"A book about rare potions ingredients," Harry said.

"How did you find it?" the blonde asked, clearly impressed.

"Luck," he said with a shrug.

They ate in silence for a while. Then…

"Can't you tell us what you're giving Morin?" (Draco)

"We promise we won't tell anyone!" (The twins)

"Yes, we would like to know." (Hermione)

"Maybe you should tell us in case he gets angry so we can save you." (Neville)

Harry looked at them all and they watched him intently. He opened his mouth and uttered one word:

"Nope."

-

It was dinnertime and no one had succeeded making Harry spill the secret. He was eating very little, feeling nervous. What if the Black would not like it? The boy swallowed hard and began eating again to not worry his friends.

Hermione was still stuck with the book after dinner while the Weasleys together with Neville was playing Exploding Snap. Harry looked at his clock and said:

"I'm going to give the presents now."

"Okay," Hermione said. "I'm sure they will love your gifts."

Harry flashed her a smile and walked out. He met up with the three Slytherins by the staircase and they went into an empty classroom. Pansy turned to him and said:

"You didn't really need to get me a gift…"

"Me neither," Blaise said.

"Stop it," Harry said. "I wanted to."

He gave the two presents to the two and said:

"Don't forget throwing the papers."

"We'll open them now," Pansy said with a smirk.

"You don't need to", Harry said nervously.

"Come on, that way we can thank you directly." And with that, the two unwrapped their gifts while Harry sat on a desk with Draco.

They were silent for a moment. And then Pansy ran up to Harry and embraced him tightly.

"Thank you so much!" she said happily. "I actually wanted that book!"

"Really?" the Gryffindor said.

"Yeah!"

Blaise was eying the wand-holster, holding it gently as he strode up to Harry. He looked at the smaller teen for a moment and then broke out in a grin. He hugged Harry as well and said:

"Thank you Harry. Is it true you can have the holster wherever you want?"

"Yeah," the teen said, grinning back. "I knew you wanted one and I found a good one."

"A good one? This is a perfect one!"

"Alright, don't strangle him," Draco said. "He still got to give Sev and Morin their gifts."

"Good luck, Harry," Pansy said.

"Great, now I'm even more nervous," Harry said with a groan.

-

He only hesitated for a moment before knocking on Snape's door. A soft 'Enter' was heard and he stepped inside.

Inside were actually both the professors he wanted to see. Morin cocked his head and smiled gently. Snape looked at him and said:

"What brings you here, Harry?"

"Um… your late Christmas gifts from me," Harry said and took out the two presents.

He gave the brown-wrapped one to the potions master and the green-wrapped to Morin. He turned to leave when Morin said:

"Stay for a moment. At least until we can thank you."

Harry swallowed and sat down. Snape unwrapped his first and revealed the book. Morin seemed to stiffen as he saw it in surprise but relaxed soon enough. Harry stored that to future wonderings. Snape looked at the book for a long time, looking through it before he stood up suddenly, crossing the distance between himself and the teen and, to Harry's surprise he was hugged. Harry clutched the man's robes and said quietly:

"Did you like it?"

"It's absolutely wonderful," Snape said. "Absolutely wonderful Harry."

When Harry was released (and allowed to breath) Morin opened his. He opened the black box and stared in shock at what he saw, his heart speeding up for a moment, way too fast. A flickering warning from the depths, a spark of lighter green eyes, and Morin took a breath, calmed down, glanced up at the teen for a moment before looking down again at the jewellery.

Harry had no idea how much those jewelleries represented Morin. Harry fidgeted in his seat and looked at the older man together with Snape. Morin looked up again, and said quietly, softly:

"Come here, Harry."

Harry rose up and went to the man. There he found himself trapped in a hug resembling Hagrid's. Even the potions professor's eyes went wide at Morin's actions. Harry was quickly to support the DADA professor as quiet sobs took over. Snape came over and loosened on Morin's hold. The Black looked up at Harry, and the teen found himself staring into eyes full of gratitude and… love? Before he could stop himself, he reached up and brushed away Morin's tears.

"I take it you liked them," the boy said.

"Liked them? Oh, I love them already."

Morin took up the necklace and Snape seemed to hitch his breath.

"Where did you find it?" the Black asked. Inside, another set of eyes watched, surprised but then snickered. Oh, it so fit them both, and Morin gently hushed him.

"In Hogsmeade," Harry said. "The owner said no one had ever admired them before because of the motives."

"House rivalry," the older man said. "Yes, of course. But I find them beautiful. They must have been made long ago, when house rivalry did not matter so much. Slytherin and Gryffindor actually liked each other in the past."

"Somehow I have a hard time imaging that," Harry said.

Morin only smiled and then to Harry's surprise slipped on the necklace. He then took out the two bracelets and admired them. Harry did not know what he liked the most; the hug Morin had given him or the love still shining in the Black's eyes.

Tbc…

* * *

**EDITED 2010-01-13**

Until later,

Ja,

Tiro


	9. Ch 8: The Veil of Death and

**Reverse of a Dark Future**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Harry Potter, JK Rowling does. She is a wonderful author and I love her Harry Potter books. I do not own any of the persons in this fic **except** for Morin Black. He's mine, I created him!

**Spoilers**: Um, book four and five. Only a bit though in the fourth book, and book five does not happen in this fic except that I mention some things and some creatures you should be aware about. Good if you have read up to book five. Book six or seven does not happen at all.

It's not spoilers, but I will warn you that all of the characters will be a bit different. The most major ones are Snape, Draco, the Weasley twins, Percy and Voldemort. Oh, and Harry will be a bit different, and I warn you it will be a bit mental abuse from the Dursleys directed to our little Harry.

And beware, because I am an evil girl and I have changed Voldemort's past!

Not everything will center on Harry, but most of the time it will together with Morin. Morin is involved in Harry's whole life and they will get close to each other. But some parts will be all Morin, but I will not make this fic so it will only be about Morin, don't worry.

**Pairings**: Slight pairing between Morin and Voldemort.

WARNING: Guy kissing another guy in this chapter.

-

**EDITED 2010-01-13**

-

**Chapter Eight: The Veil of Death and A Battle Underneath**

The castle felt somewhat deserted during the Christmas break. People slept in late, leaving the castle in silence most of the time. Morin was walking down a hall when he heard something; a voice. The man stopped and looked around. There was nothing, or no one there. Then he heard the voice again, this time underneath him. His body started to shake the tiniest bit as he heard several distant voices call out:

"_Morin… Morin, come here. We have news for you…"_

Morin swallowed and reached out to brace himself against a wall as his shaking increased. Not them again. Anything but them again…

-

Harry and Draco sat by the Slytherin table, eating breakfast. Soon enough, Snape stumbled inside yawning. He slumped down by the raven-haired teen with a groan while he was rubbing his eyes. The blonde looked up and said:

"You look tired Sev."

"I _am_ tired," the cranky professor answered. "Damn Morin and his ideas."

"What did Morin do?" Draco asked.

"He found it hilarious to almost give me a heart-attack!" the potions master snapped. "I'm going to kill him."

"Kill me?"

Snape whipped around and looked at the nervously smiling DADA professor. Harry and Draco noted he was twisting his hands, looking a bit like Dobby when he worked for the Malfoys.

"Morin…" Snape growled.

"I didn't mean to!" the Black whined. "It just happened! And what do you mean I found it hilarious?! I didn't!"

"It just happened that you almost fell out of a window?! And yes, you found that hilarious!"

"As I said, I didn't mean to do it! I was asleep for Merlin's sake, so I didn't mean to and I couldn't have found that hilarious!!"

"How the hell did you succeed getting out from your chambers, which I have locked to make sure you would stay asleep for at least one night, get to a window in one of the highest places in this whole damn castle, open the many locks on that bloody window and then lean out huh?!"

Morin winced and rubbed his tousled hair. Snape looked furious.

"I don't know," the older man answered finally. "I don't know how I did it. I woke up when you yanked me back."

Snape muttered curses under his breath and turned back to his breakfast. Morin gingerly sat down next to Harry, and the boy asked:

"Did you really do that, sir?"

"Apparently," Morin answered. "I don't know how I got pass all the locks Severus put on the door. Merlin, my brain works overtime already."

He muttered a spell and his hair was suddenly combed and set up in a ponytail. He darted his eyes at the potions master and then began to eat. Draco looked between the two professors, who had Harry like a wall between them. The blonde finally sighed and said:

"You two act like kids, you know."

Snape snapped up his head and glared at his adopted son, who gulped. Morin just stared blankly at the Slytherin teen. Then he chuckled.

"I have to admit it," he said as the three turned to look at him, "that we do act like children."

Now it was the potions master's turn to stare blankly. Then he seemed to realize it and shook his head.

"You still almost gave me a bloody heart-attack," he muttered to the older man.

"I almost gave myself a 'bloody heart-attack' as you put it," Morin answered.

"Idiot."

"Brat."

"Senile old fool."

"If you call me that again, I'll make Voldemort look like an innocent puppet compared to me."

Snape gulped at the Black, who was smiling dangerously.

"How come you always scare the shit out of me?" the greasy man asked.

"Because that's what I do for a living, you cheeky brat."

The two of them began arguing back and forth, while the two students could only stare at them in wonder. Draco did not dare telling them they sounded like an old couple, fearing for his life if he did.

-

Fred had joined them soon at the table, rubbing his tired eyes. George had been having a bad night, so the poor redhead had been up comforting his brother most of the night. Fred yawned as he took a bit of scrambled eggs onto his plate. Morin and Snape had finally calmed down and were now discussing some potion ingredient. Harry and Draco were taking turns in quizzing each other in Charms.

A sudden distant voice made them all stop. Fred's hand froze as it was heard. Draco's words died at his lips and he looked around in fear. Harry did the same. The two professors looked around as well. Then they heard the distant voice call out for Morin. They all turned to look at the Black. He was sitting frozen in his seat. Then he slowly got up and said:

"Damn people won't leave me alone…"

He turned on his heal and stalked out from the hall. It only took the others a few seconds to scramble up and follow him.

-

Morin was running along the corridors, following the voice that became stronger and stronger for each turn. His blood was pulsing wildly in his veins, his mind racing. Why are they calling on him again? Why him of all the people after all these years? Why could they not just leave him alone for once?

Fred and Draco were leading in catching up with their DADA professor. Snape and Harry were slightly behind them.

Suddenly Morin stopped in the middle of a corridor. Fred and Draco stopped a shy two metre from him.

"Professor," Fred panted. "What are you doing?

As an answer came a crack in the floor. Morin looked down, then at the two of them and called out:

"Get away!"

But no sooner the words had left his lips, the floor opened up beneath them and Morin, Fred and Draco fell into a dark abyss.

-

Snape caught Harry as the teen almost fell down with the three. He backed away quickly while holding the Gryffindor.

"Oh my god," Harry whispered. "Sir, Morin knew what was going to happen right?"

"The only thing these voices have done is to call out for him so he must have known," Snape said. "Come one, we need to go and get the professors and get them out of there."

-

Morin landed on the ground with a crack. Two more falls were heard and the older man groaned as he realized the two must have fallen. He got up on his hands and knees, breathing hard and felt the taste of blood in his mouth. He spit blood out and screamed out in the dark:

"Why in Merlin's bloody name do you like trying breaking my neck off every time you wish to speak to me?!"

"_Aah, don't be so hard on us, Morin…" _Voices bounced around him, surrounding him with a somewhat ominous aura.

"Don't try to scare me," Morin growled.

"_We don't want the youngsters here. Get rid of them."_

So the aura was to scare Draco and Fred. The Black got up and coughed with the violent action, cradling his abdomen and feeling fresh blood well up his throat and down onto the floor. As his knees buckled and his mind swam, the aura changed abruptly and embraced him, stopped the blood trickling out and easing the pain away. He pushed it away once he could stand on his own and got out his wand. He murmured 'Lumos' and saw the two boys. They were lying still, too still. He kneeled before them, and gently checked them over. Just unconscious, thank Merlin.

"They will not hear whatever you have in mind of telling me," Morin said to the darkness surrounding them. "Speak up."

"_Always the impatient one you are."_

"I have been abnormally patient with you," Morin said as he carefully gathered his two students to him. "And cast away your aura; you are not allowed to hurt these children."

"_Why was a castle filled with children put above our kingdom?" _a male voice said with a deep voice. _"It makes us hungrier for fresh spirits and young energy."_

"Don't ask me about the four founder's actions," Morin said. "Of that decision, I have little knowledge."

"_Aah, but you are the one they call the four's child__,"_ the male voice continued with amusement. _"You are them."_

The Black growled.

"Don't speak in riddles with me," he said coldly. "Now, what do you want?"

"_You know what we want. The__ same thing as last time."_

Morin unconsciously dragged both Draco and Fred closer; you could not trust these people with fresh spirits as the male voice had pointed out just a few moments ago. He looked around and answered:

"You can't have it. Not yet."

"_But we want it now!"_

The voices grew upset and the same ominous aura surrounded him with a daunting edge to it.

"Stop it!" Morin roared and they grew silent. "You can't have it. It's up to me to decide whether you will have it or not. Don't try my patience; you know with enough willpower I can slay the dead."

The voices stopped and the aura changed from daunting to comforting.

"Don't try to delude me," Morin snapped. "I know you just try to get on my good side, but honestly you haven't been there in ages. Not since the last time."

"_What did we do then? Tell us, and we'll make it better." _The male voice was dominant in the statement.

Morin did not intend to lower his guard, but he did. And that was all that was needed. The aura was so lulling and nice he let go of the boys. The aura let them be, as the voices knew it would only aggravate the man even more. Instead, the aura pushed Morin away from them and closer to their kingdom. Something akin to arms embraced Morin and too late he realized his mistake.

-

Dumbledore looked down the dark hole with worry etched in his face. Somehow, there was nothing built underneath this floor and it seemed bottomless. Harry came back to the edge one too many times, and then he was pulled back to Snape who went to stand by the wall with the teen in front of him, one arm across Harry's shoulders and Harry's hands holding the arm.

"How are we going to get down there?" McGonagall asked as she wrung her hands just like Morin had done earlier.

"Fawkes," the headmaster called out and the Phoenix came gliding. "Please, can you check the depth of this hole?"

Fawkes bent his head in understanding and went down in the darkness.

-

Morin could not help but relax as the soft lips came to rest over his own again, could not help but enjoy the feeling of being loved. The lips moved gently on his, swallowing any noises the Black made as he lay helpless in the darkness. Someone was lying on the living man, something that was far from living, and was currently stroking his thigh through the fabric and Morin arched up at the touch. The greedy mouth swallowed his moans and a hand came to stroke Morin's pale cheek.

In front of them was a sort of giant gate with a thin layer of fabric. Beyond that fabric was thousands of voices, laughing and talking. The fabric was blowing gently, casting an eerie light over the two figures in front of it. It was what you could call the Veil of Death, a veil that had rested underneath Hogwarts all since it was built, and many years before that. But the man on top of Morin was just no mere ghost; no, he was something far more important. He was the one who controlled Death itself.

The man moved his lips from Morin's lips to his throat and the Black moaned quietly. Other auras closed in and soon there was another set of lips on Morin's, kissing his life from him, emptying him of blood. The Black's body was trembling as his limbs lost his precious life-liquid. But soon, the man lying on Morin noticed the others and swatted them away while brining Morin close to his chest, in a gesture of protecting the living man from dying even though the ghost was supposed to invite people to death. The Black felt like his body was on fire, and through the haze he heard the man speak to him:

"_I canno__t take your energy from you at this point. You are right, as usual. But let me enjoy you for a minute longer."_

The mouth claimed Morin's lips again, more forcefully now and his hands were pinned to the cold floor. His mouth was close to raped by the man on top and Morin groaned out his pleasure and arched up as his body began to answer to the man's touches. He felt the coppery taste in his mouth as the dead man forced blood back into him again, forced life back into him. He was filled up with so much blood that he began to struggle within the grip, and the blood stopped coming. The kiss got more gentle and Morin moaned without thinking straight and got his hands up from the cold floor. He gripped the man's back and pressed up. The ghost kissed back just as eagerly, both lost in pleasure.

Just as Morin thought he was going to pass out from dizziness, the man released him. The ghost took a gentle but firm hold of Morin's arms and pried the living man's arms from him. The Black felt one last soft kiss on the corner of his mouth and then the ghost moved away from him. A cold finger came to rest over his lips gently, preventing the words he had on his tongue and he heard the man speak again:

"_Soon…"_

Then he knew no more.

-

Fawkes came up and Dumbledore smiled as the bird explained what he had seen.

"Thank you," the wizard said to the Phoenix. "Seems like it's safe to go down if you know what you're expecting. I will go."

"I will come too," Snape said and finally let Harry go.

The headmaster nodded. Harry looked up at the professor who said:

"I'll be back soon."

The two of them drew their wands and jumped down.

-

Morin woke up after only a few moments. His body felt heavy and a sweet scent still lingered on his lips as he licked them.

'_The scent of death__,'_ he thought sarcastically.

It felt like he had been drugged as he got up. He looked at the veil, the fabric swaying lightly. The warmth was still tempting. He touched his cold lips and then spat on the ground. He had let another man touch him. A man he had no love for whatsoever. How disgusting. Even more disgusting was that he had touched the man back. No… not a man; a fucking _ghost_.

"Soon you said," he spoke out to the veil. "You know you can't have me. Ever. You know who I belong to. You know he won't give me up no matter how hard you try, oh King of the Dead. The only thing you're doing is wish-thinking."

He rose up and staggered away from the veil, ignoring the auras that tried to call him back. His knees buckled though only after a few metres and he was startled when he was caught by two people.

"Easy Morin," Dumbledore spoke. "Just sit down again."

"Fred and Draco," the Black mumbled.

"Where?" Snape asked.

"I don't know," Morin said. "Not so far away. Just cast a Lumos and you'll find them."

He sank down on the ground and the old wizard's hands kept him sitting up.

"Just lean onto me for a little while," Dumbledore said. "You're shaking as a leaf in a storm."

Morin tried to relax but in this environment it was not so easy. Meanwhile, the headmaster was studying the veil.

"Did you know we had this underneath the school?" he asked the younger man.

"Yes," Morin mumbled.

The older man asked no more. Snape came back with the two children.

"Are they alright?" Dumbledore asked.

"Yes," the potions master said. "Mr. Weasley has sprained his ankle, and Draco has some cuts on his left arm but other than that they're fine."

"Then let's get out from here," Dumbledore said. "It's better if you let the dead rest undisturbed."

As they got up Morin, a frightening aura shot out towards the potions master with the two children. Voices shouted out along with the aura:

"_No! You can't take him! Give him back! Give __Morin back!"_

Morin stopped he invisible aura with his hand, startling the two others and turned his murderous eyes towards the veil. The aura caught in Morin's hand was twisting, and started to shine in the colour of blood. Dumbledore and Snape could see blood dripping from the Black's hand as the aura cut through his skin. With a swing, Morin threw the aura away and screamed:

"You can't just kill people as you like!"

The two wizards standing behind Morin heard a chuckle from within the veil. The Black took a step back, ready to get out his wand. Then the voice, a male one, spoke up:

"_Aah, such frightening eyes you have. Just like Godric Gryffindor, the blazing fire shines in your orbs as well. And that stance… so like the terrifying Salazar Slytherin. I almost expect you to speak in Parseltongue with me. And that mind of yours. You can rival with Rowena Ravenclaw herself with your knowledge and calculating. Always have an answer to anything, right? And that loyalty resting inside. __That foolish loyalty of Helga Hufflepuff does exist with you. That loyalty that has made you keep silent of what your already dead friend committed when she was alive. Even after over forty years, you have not spoken of the things she has done. You are them, Morin, just as I've always said. You came to us long ago, you came to me with a question when you were a mere youngster and you had seen a future so horrible for such a small child. You came to the Dead Kingdom to seek answer for the living. I admire your courage, but you already know the answer of the question. You have always known the answer."_

"I don't know it," Morin answered. "I can't even remember the question anymore with all your meaningless talking of how I must give up my energy and give it to you."

The two behind him gasped as he spoke to one of the Undead kings.

"_Oh, that? That was what we thought at first, that you were one of us in a living body. But now we realize you have a purpose in life, something we don't. And the question is essential for that purpose. You asked how you can destroy a part of a human that has infested an innocent child's mind without killing the child."_

Morin froze as he heard that. Harry…?

"_Seek your mind__,"_ the man said. _"Seek every part of your mind, and you will see the answer you have always known."_

The voice quieted down, and for a while you could only hear them breath.

"Morin," Dumbledore spoke. "You have spoken to them before."

"… Yes," the Black answered. "I have done so. And I suggest we get out of there; they are not all that friendly with others than me."

"I can understand that, the way they tried to attack Severus."

Morin turned away from the veil and followed the two other wizards; his mind was already set on finding the answer of the question he had asked the dead when he was thirteen years old.

-

The school was still silent but in one corridor several people were waiting nervously. McGonagall, Sprout, Flitwick, the Golden Trio, Blaise, Pansy and George. George was pacing back and forth while glancing at the hole all the time. The two Slytherins stood still, looking down the dark abyss waiting for their friend. The Golden Trio was sitting by the wall and was silently waiting.

Suddenly a wind came up from the hole and they all had to take cover. When it lay down, the three grown wizards and the two younger ones were already up.

"Morin!" Harry screamed out.

In the light, both Snape and Dumbledore saw the Black's pale face and his struggle to breath.

"Take him to the Infirmary," Dumbledore said to Snape.

The potions master gently put down the two children and helped Morin stand up. The said man coughed violently and blood poured out from his mouth and splashed down on the floor.

'So much for giving my blood back, King,' Morin thought absently.

Snape picked up the older man and rushed away.

"Let's take them to the Infirmary as well," the headmaster said to McGonagall, referring to the two children by him.

She nodded and levitated their bodies. The Golden Trio, the two Slytherins and George followed her. Dumbledore watched in fascination as the hole closed itself and not a dent was left behind to reveal the entrance of the Dead Kingdom.

-

"Poppy!"

The medic witch looked up from the bed she was making and frowned.

"Severus?" she asked.

"Open the damn door!"

She huffed and waved her wand. The potions master kicked up the doors with his foot once the locks were off and she turned around to scold him. However, the sight that met her made her blood go cold in her veins.

Morin. Covered in blood. His own blood. And the blood had gotten the potions master covered in the red liquid as well, and the blood left a trail behind the younger man as Snape put Morin down on a bed. Snape made a quick scan and said:

"Blood Replenishing potion now. At least five bottles."

"Five?" she cried out as she ran to the cupboard to collect them.

"You have no idea how much blood he has already lost," the professor snapped. "Morin, open your eyes. Morin!"

The older man opened them in annoyance and tried to get out a 'What?' but all that came out was a gurgle and more blood.

"Do not even try to speak," Snape hissed. "Stay down, relax and let us do the work."

"What happened?" the witch asked as she put the bottles down.

"There is a Veil of Death underneath the school Poppy," Snape answered. "Morin was found lying directly in front of it."

Morin closed his eyes as memories of the man came back. He had not liked the man, but he had indeed enjoyed that kiss from whoever it was that made him more and more feeble. The kiss that stole his life-liquid, his blood. It had been rough and gentle at the same time, loving and hating and the older man had enjoyed every moment of it. Too bad it only lasted a few moments.

But then he had been filled with so much blood again so that he could not hold it down. Damn King of Death; if he had been more aware on the surroundings, Morin would not have to do this. Snape turned him to his side and he coughed out the last of the blood. My, he was feeling a bit light-headed. The potions master poured down two bottles of Blood Replenishing potions and then the others came. McGonagall looked like she was going to be sick as she had followed the trail of blood. She had been sensible enough to clean it away as she went along. George placed down his twin in one bed and Blaise put down the blonde in another.

"Is he alright?" Harry asked the potions professor.

"For now," Snape answered.

Morin looked up at the potions professor and opened his mouth. A warning finger came to rest over his lips. The DADA professor closed his eyes as more memories showed up. He darted his eyes over to the Gryffindor and nearly winced. He knew the answer how to get Voldemort's soul out from the child, according to the almighty ruler of all death around the world, the almighty ruler Morin had just made out with. And there was one thing that spirit did not do, and that was to lie. Tricking, deluding and so on, yes he did that but the spirit never lied to Morin.

But if he already knew the answer, how come he could not find it?

-

The end of the holiday came too quickly and soon classes began once more. It had almost become a silent promise to not mention what had happened earlier with Morin, Fred and Draco. The three were oddly quiet about it. Even though the two teens had been unconscious they had felt the unnatural auras around them. Morin himself refused to mention one word what had happen.

Harry had not much time to think about it though. He still had the second task to worry about, and he had no idea what it would be. He had opened the egg once, and he had gone deaf for a few minutes thanks to that. It had been an unnaturally high sound.

Right now he was sitting in one of the bathtubs in the shower room. It was late at night, and in the end of January. Harry looked at the egg he had brought in with him. It was Friday so there was no need to go to bed early. The others were in the common room, but Harry needed to think. He fingered on the egg, and opened it. He saw the bubbles rise up from the egg, and decided to listen. If it was that scream again, he could always pull up quickly. He took a deep breath, and sank down. However, there was no scream waiting for him. Instead there was a song:

'_Come seek us where our voices sound,  
__We cannot sing above the ground,  
__And while you're searching, ponder this:  
__We've taken what you'll sorely miss,  
__An hour long you'll have to look,  
__And to recover what we took,  
__But past an hour – the prospect's black  
__Too late, it's gone, it won't come back.'_

Harry got above the surface with a surprised face. He thought over the song, soon realized he had forgotten parts of it, and went under again. It took him three times to memorise the song, and then he sat pondering. What could they be? They could not be heard above the ground. Underwater creatures? But what kind of creatures?

Harry looked out from the window, thinking hard. Then…

'Can't be heard above the ground,' he thought. 'Must be under water, right? And no fish or that squid… mermaids! Gotta be mermaids.'

It was the best shot he could find. So he was going under water. As soon as he realized that, his stomach lurched. He was not a good swimmer. The Dursleys had probably hoped he would drown one day so they had never bothered to teach him.

'One hour. How the hell am I supposed to stay under water for one hour?!'

"Harry?"

The raven-haired teen looked up at Neville.

"The water is probably pretty cold," the clumsy teen pointed out. "You better get up."

"Oh, you're right."

Harry quickly got a towel around himself and picked up the egg. Neville did not question why he had bathed with the egg although the teen looked a little puzzled. He carefully got out into the dorm and dressed in a pair of trousers and a T-shirt. It was too big for his thin frame, but at least the T-shirt was not Dudley's. It had belonged to George, who had seen the poor state Harry's clothes were in. Fred had also made a habit of checking if any clothes could fit Harry. The teen already had a couple of clothing from Ron and Draco. The Slytherin had given him a nice deep-green cloak with a serpent clasp on it, and some trousers.

Harry went down in the common room where Hermione caught him.

"Neville said you had your egg in the bath," she said.

"Yeah," Harry said. "It's mermaids." He was confident of that.

"What?" she asked, puzzled.

"I'm supposed to meet mermaids in the second task, as they have stolen something from me and I have an hour to get it back," the teen explained.

She looked at him.

"One hour?"

"Yes," he said. "And I have no idea how I'm supposed to be able to stay underwater for an hour."

"You still got almost a month", Hermione said.

Harry hoped it would be enough.

-

The time for the second task closed in, and Harry was nearly climbing the walls. He had not found one clue, and he was getting desperate. One day, a Saturday night he was bored and decided to visit Morin. He knocked on the door and inside, Morin looked up with a start. He had not noticed anyone. He called out 'Enter' and was even more surprised when Harry stepped in.

"Harry?" he said.

"Hi," the Gryffindor said. "I had nothing to do… so…"

"You came to a professor in hope of having something to do?" Morin asked, amused.

"Yeah," Harry said with a blush. "Hermione is still trying to help Ron with Potions, and I really didn't want to spend my Saturday night in the common room where everyone asks me if I know the second task."

"Mind if you help me with the upcoming classes then?" Morin said. "A bit of advice wouldn't hurt."

The boy stepped up to the desk and sat down on a chair. Morin took out his notes and said:

"I've been having a lot of troubles planning my classes, especially so that the Ministry won't bugger me so much."

"Doesn't the headmaster deal with that?"

"They ignore him and goes straight to me," Morin said with a tired chuckle. "I'm the danger to the children, remember that."

"What a pile of rubbish that is," Harry said.

"You and I agree on that one then", the Black said with a smile. "Draco's explanation was though a bit more colourful than yours."

"He needs to learn to control his temper."

"We're agreeing on that point as well. My, my, are we alike or what?"

"Keep it up, and we'll see."

-

Harry was reading a book while Morin was doing the last of the planning for his classes. The teen was reading about underwater life for some reason; that was the only book Morin had on the desk.

He was flipping through the pages when he stumbled upon something that made his heart take a jump.

Gillyweed, that allows the user to breath underwater for an hour. Harry eagerly read about the small plant and tried not to scream of joy. He had a week to the second task, and he had figured out a way to succeed. But where did could he find Gillyweed? Maybe Snape…

"Lost in thoughts?"

Harry looked up at his DADA professor, who had finished and was watching him.

"Yeah," the teen said, embarrassed. Morin always succeeded making him feel embarrassed.

"Found anything interesting?" Morin asked as he tilted his head.

"Not really," the boy replied. "Just thinking of the second task."

"That's in a week isn't it?"

"Yeah," Harry said with a gulp. "I'm not really looking forward to it."

"I wouldn't either," the Black said.

-

Harry was utterly nervous as he went down towards the dungeons. He had two days on him to get Gillyweed, and he had heard Snape had the plant. So he was now going to ask if he could get some.

He knocked on the door and heard Snape's soft voice saying 'Enter'. He opened the door and the potions master looked up.

"Harry?"

"Hi, sorry if I disturb you but I need a bit of help."

"With what?" the man asked, puzzled.

"Would you mind if I 'borrowed' some Gillyweed from you sir?"

Snape looked up, startled but then he remembered the second task. How had the child known about Gillyweed? The potions professor suddenly felt a little rebellious as he remembered how Morin so discreetly had helped Harry with the first task and said:

"It's really unlucky that I never caught the thief who stole from my personal storage. By the way, Gillyweed looks like grass."

Harry grinned and rushed into the storage room. He found a bottle with neatly gathered plants that looked like grass. Just in case he looked on the text on the bottle and saw the word 'Gillyweed'. He took a few of them, put the bottle back, stepped out from the storage room and before he left he said:

"You're a life-safer sir!"

"Am I?" Snape asked into the silence of his office, amused.

-

The day before the second task and Harry was sitting on his bed. Both Ron and Hermione had given up on trying talking to him. He had a book open in his lap, but he was not reading. Instead he had a bad feeling about the second task but then again, he had a bad feeling about a lot of things.

-

The four champions had gathered at the lake and Fleur continued looking back at the crowds. She seemed worried about something.

"What's wrong Fleur?" Harry asked.

"I can't see my sister, Gabrielle. She's supposed to be 'ere," the young woman said.

Harry had not time to answer as Bagman's voice was heard:

"It's soon time for the second task to begin! On my count-- three… two… one and GO!"

Harry had already put away his robe and shoes with his socks inside and now he fished up the Gillyweed and put it in his mouth. He chewed and swallowed the Gillyweed before jumping head-first in the water, hearing the others do that as well.

The water was cold, and Harry wondered whether the plant was going to work or not. But then there was like a lock on his nose and mouth and he could not draw in. Instead he felt a pain on either side of his neck, and he clamped his hands there. There was two large slits just below his ears, and he realized quite dumbly he had gills. The pressure on his mouth disappeared and he took a big gulp of water. It felt quite strange but at least he could breathe again.

He looked at his hands and saw that his fingers had become longer, and he had webbing between them. The same had happened to his feet. He looked around and was surprised how clearly he could see. He struck out with his feet and hands, and nearly laughed of relief when he speeded at least a few metres. This was awesome.

He began working his way down to the lake's depths, and soon the surface and the light disappeared. The silence was oddly comforting and the water felt pleasant. He sped down and went past plants he had never seen before, and encountered fishes he did not believe existed. The fishes looked at him, and he only winked at them with a grin. He was not even working hard to get forward, and he made great progress within a little amount of time. He even made a few loops in the water just for fun.

He perked up as he thought he heard the melody from the box Morin had given him. He shook his head but the melody was still playing. He began to track down the melody and heard a soft voice singing with the melody. It was the voice of a young girl and a voice Harry had never heard before. He shook his head once more but none of the sounds disappeared. He swam in direction to the melody, thinking he was going crazy.

He came to a clearing and was met by merpeople. They all turned to look at him as he stopped, looking right back at them. Then they moved away form the middle and revealed four motionlessly bodies tied secure by ropes. Harry's eyes widened as he heard where the melody came from.

But first things first; the four bodies must be one each for the champions. He saw a girl, maybe around eight years old and figured it was Gabrielle, Fleur's sister. She had the same blonde hair as the young woman and looked quite alike to her sister. Next to the girl was a boy in his age. Harry thought for a while as he swam towards them. His only conclusion the boy must be important to Viktor, since the third was Cho Chang, Cedric's girlfriend. But it was his own important person that surprised Harry the most.

Harry thought almost absently that either Morin needed a hair cut or he needed to put it up in a ponytail more often as he stopped in front of the Black. The man's eyes were closed like in a sleep, and Harry recognized Dumbledore's magic resting around the man. He checked the other three, all the while being watched curiously by the merpeople and found the headmaster's aura around all of them. So they were just under a spell. Harry felt more relaxed now and incredible stupid for believing in the song. Of course Dumbledore would not allow any harm to any of these people.

He got back to Morin and began taking away the ropes. The man was dressed in his usual robes, and Harry snickered as he thought of what would happen when Morin woke up. The man hated when he had wet or dirty clothes. And he also happened to hate being cold, which he probably would be when he woke up. Harry only hoped he would take out his anger on the headmaster, and not on the Gryffindor.

He got away the last of the ropes, took a good grip on his favourite professor around the man's torso and shot upwards. He thought he heard the merpeople cheer on him. He relaxed a bit and swam more calmly. It had only been forty minutes, so he had twenty minutes to go. He tightened his hold on Morin as he wondered when the man had become his most important person. It could have been the day Harry met him, or when they had their very first quill-training lesson. It could have been anytime, but the boy knew the older man had become something he did not want to live without.

A sudden rush of aura made the Gryffindor stop for a moment. He looked around and began counting up the animals underwater Lupin had gone through last year. Nope, nothing with that kind of aura. Had it been any of the champions? No, not that either. Then he narrowed his eyes and looked into Morin's face. The man's eyes were open and Morin pointed at his throat with his wand. Gills similar to Harry appeared on the man's neck and he took a long breath. Harry realized he must have woken up and needed to breathe. But the spell the headmaster had put on hem should prevent them from waking up. Then again, it was Morin Black; since when did he ever listen to anyone else?

The boy let go of the man, who twisted around but still held onto the Gryffindor's arms. Morin smiled, released one arm and pointed up while arching his eyebrow.

Harry grinned, took a good grip on Morin again and kicked off.

-

Just as the surface began to come closer, something gripped onto them both. They looked down to see Grindylows with their fangs bared and their long fingers clutching at their robes. Grindylows were small, horned water demons and no creatures to play with. Harry kicked out on one, but soon more joined and began to drag them down. Morin took a good grip on Harry with one arm and held out the other one, his right hand.

Harry looked on in fascination as Morin began chanting something. He even could hear the faint words, despite the fact it should be impossible but he did not recognize the language. A light spiralled out from Morin's hand and down on the small creatures. They quickly scattered and Morin pointed upwards once more, looking tired. Harry caught the gesture and kicked hard upwards. The time was out and he felt the gills disappear. It was getting harder to breathe and to swim, but Harry continued to kick on. Whatever Morin had done, it seemed to have taken out a lot of him; but then again, he was supposed to sleep all the time and had now used up his reserve magic he should use to be able to breath properly. Dumbledore's aura must have 'imprisoned' the person's auras so none of the champions would be able to find them that easily.

Harry's head broke the surface and he gasped. He dragged up Morin and the man coughed. He heard screams, cheering, and Bagman's annoying voice but the only thing the Gryffindor cared about was to get up from the freezing water, and into the warm castle.

"Let's go professor," Harry said.

The man nodded and they made their way to the land. Once Morin felt the bottom under his feet he stood up in the cold. Harry found the bottom a few metres away. The boy looked back to see the Black's shaking form and realized the man was not meant to stay in such cold weather with sodden robes.

Harry was dragged into land by his friends, and he saw both Snape and Dumbledore go for Morin.

"You did it!" Draco shouted at him. "That was awesome, and you're the first one back!"

"I am?" Harry said. "But Fleur…"

The girl was indeed there, but she looked awful with cuts on her face and arms and her torn robes.

"She had to come back," Hermione said. "She got attacked by the Grindylows. I can't believe you made it in 55 minutes; that's brilliant!"

Ron just grinned at him. Madam Pomfrey came and tucked a thick blanket around him while muttering curses under her breath. Then she turned around and snapped:

"Severus, bring Morin here as well!"

The potions master got up Morin from the ground and the Black walked over to the group. He was pale in his face and his lips had turned to a dangerous tone of blue. Snape had cast a spell on the man's clothes, drying them and now moved to do the same with Harry's. The boy sighed in contentment as his clothes got dry and his shaking lessened just a bit. The medic witch put a cup of steaming tea in Harry's hand and said:

"That will help you warm up dear. I want you all to make sure he's comfortable, is that understood?"

All of Harry's friends, five Gryffindors and three Slytherins, nodded and Madam Pomfrey got over to Morin. Hermione put a spell on the blanket, making it warmer and the twins laid out their jackets so that Harry could sit down. Bagman was still talking, but Harry did not pay that much of attention to the man's blabbering.

"Drink the tea up!" Pansy said. "I wanna hear what happened already!"

"Yeah, don't be so secretive!" Blaise said. "Tell us everything!"

Harry sipped the tea and glanced over at Morin. The man had not improved by much, and he seemed to prefer sitting huddled on the ground than to drink the tea Snape tried to get in him.

"Draco", Harry said softly. "Do you think you can help professor Snape with Morin?"

Draco looked over at the two, and nodded.

"But you better not begin without me!" the blonde warned.

"I promise."

Draco rose up and ran up to the two professors while Hermione, Ron and the twins continued to fuss around Harry. Neville, Pansy and Blaise looked on, amused.

-

"Morin?"

The man looked up to see Draco.

"What?" he asked with clattering teeth.

"Just take the tea Sev is offering," the blonde said. "It'll make you warmer."

"My hands won't stop shaking," the man muttered. "I can't even hold the damn cup."

Snape sat down and unwrapped Morin's hands. He put the cup in one of the older man's hand while still holding it steadily and said:

"Just drink it as Draco said."

Morin sipped it and grimaced.

"I hate herbal tea," he said.

"Who likes it?" Snape asked.

"No idea," the Black answered. "Crazy people maybe?"

Draco shook his head and went back to Harry.

-

Just as Draco came back, Viktor's head broke the surface and he dragged up another head. The boy Harry had seen coughed violently and clung onto Viktor as a life-line.

"And there we have Mr. Krum!" Bagman called out and the crowds cheered.

"Oh, he didn't break the one hour!" Hermione said excitedly. "But who is the boy?"

"Maybe his brother?" Harry said. "Fleur had her sister."

"She had?"

"It was an eight-year old girl down there, with exact same hair as Fleur and they looked alike," the boy said with a shrug. "She should be brought up when the Cedric gets up."

-

It took ten more minutes before Cedric showed up with Cho. During that time, Viktor had introduced his little brother to them while they were getting dry and Harry had told his friends how he found out what they were facing.

"So you had the egg for a purpose in the bath?" Neville said with a slop-sided smile.

"At first, I didn't know but then I was glad I did bring it," Harry replied. "Hello, Morin. Feeling better?"

They turned around to see the Black standing behind them.

"A bit," Morin said with a sniff. "But I don't recommend a bath in the lake during this season." And promptly sneezed, looking as miserable as he could.

-

Harry watched as Dumbledore was speaking to the chief merperson, who was a particularly wild-looking female. The headmaster was making the same sorts of screechy noises as the merpeople; the boy could only conclude that Dumbledore spoke Mermish. Finally the old man got up, turned to his fellow judges and said:

"A small conference before we decide the marks, I think."

The judges huddled in to each other and the champions could relax. The head merperson had brought Gabrielle with her and Fleur was currently holding her little sister close. Viktor was sitting on the ground with his brother secured in a blanket while Cedric tried to get the warmth in his body back by jumping up and down. Cho was talking about something with Hermione.

"I heard you were the first to get back," Cedric said suddenly to the Gryffindor.

"Yeah, I was," Harry said.

"Good work on that one," Cedric said. "When I got there, I was second. There were only three people so I guessed you had already collected. I could have been second up too, but I got into some trouble with that bloody squid."

"I missed that one, luckily," Harry said.

"But I didn't think professor Black would be your important person?" the Hufflepuff said in confusion as he jumped some more.

"I didn't think so either," Harry said. "But I guess we've gotten a bit close."

Cedric nodded.

"You know, you look funny when you do that," Harry said.

"Haha, I know," Cedric said. "But it does get me warmer."

"Try a warming spell", Harry said, "instead of jumping around and losing energy."

Cedric hit his forehead and said:

"Why didn't I think of that?! Hang on, that's a spell for the seventh years so how…?"

"Hermione and professor Snape", the younger boy said. "I can't do them yet."

"I thought so."

Cedric put a spell on himself and sighed in contentment.

"I love magic," the older teen said. "Oh, looks like the judge has finished!"

Bagman turned to the crowds and began to speak:

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have reached our decision. Mer-chieftainess Murcus has told us exactly what happened at the bottom of the lake, and we have therefore decided to award points up to fifty for each of the champions, as follows…

"Miss Fleur Delacour demonstrated an excellent use of the Bubble-Head Charm, but sadly was attacked by Grindylows as she approached her goal and therefore she failed to retrieve her hostage. We award her 25 points."

Applause from the stands as Fleur shook her head.

"I did not do anything. I deserved zero," she said.

"Mr Cedric Diggory, who also used the Bubble-Head Charm, came in as third and was outside the one-hour limit with around eight minutes." The cheers exploded from the Hufflepuff side. "We therefore award him with 40 points."

Harry clapped with the others.

"Mr Viktor Krum used an incomplete Transfiguration that was nevertheless effective, and was second to return as well was he inside the time-limit. We award him 45 points."

Viktor raised his arm but did not look so happy about it. He was concentrating on his brother's face, and pulled the boy closer. Apparently, this task had been a bit too close for comfort for the Bulgarian, Harry noted.

"And Mr Harry Potter used the plant Gillyweed to the extreme, and came to his hostage the first. But on his way back up, he and his hostage was attacked by a nasty Grindylow group. The Mer-chieftainess here said she thought they would be dragged down to the bottom, but by some miracle Mr Potter fended them off and got up on 55 minutes."

The crowds exploded and Harry was surprised. He looked over at the merperson, Murcus, who inclined her head to him with a smile. He smiled back.

"We therefore award Mr Potter wholly 50 points."

Harry thought he had gone deaf as all of his friends screamed of joy to him. Hermione and Pansy hugged him fiercely and Draco and Ron swung him around. The twins did the same and Neville beamed at him.

"Alright!" Bagman said. "The third and final task will take place at dusk on the 24th of July. The champions will be informed of what is coming, precisely one month beforehand."

As soon as he had finished speaking, Madam Pomfrey began to usher all the champions and the four others to the Infirmary so she could check them out one final time.

-

Harry let Madam Pomfrey fuss over him and was waiting for her to say he could go. Finally she nodded to him with a smile and turned to Morin. He got up and had almost left when the witch spoke to the DADA professor:

"You should have protested Morin! Your body takes a much longer time to recover than a normal body!"

Harry turned around and looked at the Black. He was stirring the tea Madam Pomfrey had given him and was eyeing the witch with mild annoyance.

'Soon there will be a twitching of his eyebrow,' Harry thought.

"Poppy, I assure you I'm fine," Morin said calmly.

"Morin," the witch said dangerously. Aah, there was the twitch.

"Yes Poppy?" Amazing how the man could hold his temper down without snapping.

"Your vital signs are not looking good," Madam Pomfrey said. "You know that."

"Yes I do," Morin said. "But it's alright."

"Just because you have _it_ inside your blood vessels!" she snapped. "_It_ won't help you forever!"

"I didn't plan to Poppy," Morin said innocently and sipped his tea. "Something else?" A snicker inside, a remark of bravery, and Morin hid his smile against the cup as he gently knocked Harry back down. The younger man only laughed, vanished into the shadows of Morin's soul.

"You're impossible."

"I know."

She fumed, but turned on her heels and walked over to Viktor. Harry stored that conversation in his mind and left to find his friends.

-

He sat down with his friends, who had gathered by the Gryffindor table. Even the three Slytherins.

"Thought you had forgotten about us!" Ron said.

"Nah," Harry said. "I just got released. Dray, I got a question."

"Fire off."

"Do Morin use any potions?"

Draco narrowed his eyes, and said:

"Not that I can think off. But it's pretty easy for him to hide it."

"How so?" Hermione said.

"Duh, he's filthy rich AND he is a better potions master than Sev," the blonde said. "He can buy the ingredients himself, and he can make the potions himself. Why do you ask?"

"Madam Pomfrey said something that his vital signs doesn't look good," the raven-haired Gryffindor said. "But he brushed it off."

"He's definitely hiding something," Draco said and the others nodded.

"She also said something about _it_. She spit the word out, like a curse," Harry said. "She said it was in his blood vessels."

"Immortality potion?" Pansy said.

"No one has survived it," Hermione said. "Immortality potion is too hard to make."

"Nicolas Flamel survived it", Ron pointed out.

"Alright, two people survived it", the bushy-haired girl said. "But anyone else has died."

"Where did you find that information?" Draco asked.

"It's common sense if you look at the potion itself," Hermione said. "Besides, Nicolas Flamel made the immortality potion with the help of the philosopher's stone and that makes it easier. A real immortality potion requires ingredients that will most likely kill you instead of giving you long life."

The other people gulped around her. Hermione looked at Harry and said:

"Whatever it could be, it can't be dangerous right?"

"Right," Harry drawled. "Just as dangerous as why he wanted Basilisk poison?"

This caught the other's attention and the lunch went to explain, quietly so no one heard, about how they heard Morin wanted Basilisk poison.

Harry, though distracted by the talk, still had a nagging feeling in his head about his time in the lake. Why had he been able to hear that melody? He remembered he had been going into anther direction when it started.

Suddenly he realized. The melody had saved him. Cedric had gone into that direction on the way up and had met the squid. Was this the true reason Morin had given Harry the box? So that he would discover the danger before he encountered it?

Tbc…

* * *

**EDITED 2010-01-13**

Until later,

Ja,

Tiro


	10. Ch 9: Padfoot Returns

**Reverse of a Dark Future**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Harry Potter, JK Rowling does. She is a wonderful author and I love her Harry Potter books. I do not own any of the persons in this fic **except** for Morin Black. He's mine, I created him!

**Spoilers**: Um, book four and five. Only a bit though in the fourth book, and book five does not happen in this fic except that I mention some things and some creatures you should be aware about. Good if you have read up to book five. Book six or seven does not happen at all.

It's not spoilers, but I will warn you that all of the characters will be a bit different. The most major ones are Snape, Draco, the Weasley twins, Percy and Voldemort. Oh, and Harry will be a bit different, and I warn you it will be a bit mental abuse from the Dursleys directed to our little Harry.

And beware, because I am an evil girl and I have changed Voldemort's past!

Not everything will center on Harry, but most of the time it will together with Morin. Morin is involved in Harry's whole life and they will get close to each other. But some parts will be all Morin, but I will not make this fic so it will only be about Morin, don't worry.

**Pairings**: Slight pairing between Morin and Voldemort.

-

**EDITED 2010-01-13**

-

**Chapter Nine: Padfoot Returns**

Harry yawned as he walked towards the dungeon with Draco; it was in the beginning of March, a weekend and he had promised to help Draco with Potions. It had also become a habit of theirs to spend their time with Potions homework in the same room as Snape.

"Are you still sleeping or what?" the blonde asked.

"No," Harry said. "I just slept a bit bad."

"Bad how?"

"Nightmare?"

"Oh…"

"It's not a big deal," Harry said with a wave. "First nightmare in a long time."

Draco snuck a glance at the Gryffindor, but Harry was busy looking in his bag for something.

"What are you doing?" the Slytherin asked.

"I got a letter from Padfoot not so long ago," Harry said, using Sirius' nickname just in case. "He wants to know the next Hogsmeade weekend."

"Is he back in the country?" Draco whispered.

"Apparently," Harry whispered back. "I don't like it, but I really want to see him as well."

"Haven't sent the mirror yet?"

"He said it was too dangerous," Harry said with a frown. "But if I meet him I can give it to him."

The blonde nodded in agreement as they reached the potions classroom. Just as they were going to knock, the door opened and they almost knocked into Morin.

"Oh," the DADA professor said. "Good morning."

"Morning," Harry said. "What are you doing here?"

Morin held up a bottle with a grimace.

"Nutrient potion," he said. "Guess I wasn't that really good at eating. See you later."

With that, he swept pass them and up towards his own office. The two boys looked into the classroom just as Madam Pomfrey left, leaving Snape by his desk. He was rubbing his temples and was muttering something that sounded like 'Damn fool doesn't know when to eat…' The man looked up at them and snapped:

"Are you coming in or not?!"

"Aah, we're coming in!" both of them said and ran inside.

-

Morin took a breath of relief as he closed the door to his chambers. Damn, maybe he should not go to Snape's classroom to get _that_ potion. He put down the bottle of nutrient potion and drew out another bottle from his robes. It was small and held a black liquid inside. He looked at it with slight distaste and then downed it.

"I hate this shit," he said with a shudder. "Makes me want to puke."

After that he took the nutrient potion, knowing he could not eat anything more that day. The black potion would not allow it. He sighed and sat down.

"Alright, what to do now?"

-

While Draco was doing the assignment in Potions Harry wrote a reply to his godfather. The next Hogsmeade weekend was two weeks from now, so Harry was happy that he might see his godfather again since that night in November.

Harry finished the letter and put it away. Snape looked up and said:

"Have you finished Potions before you even got here?"

"Yep," Harry said. "Maybe it's good for me to spend so much time with Morin; you get a lot of homework done then."

"Lucky you," Draco muttered. "I find myself playing chess with him or reading a magazine."

"Come on, Morin is a good lexicon if you need any help," the teen said with a chuckle. "Ask him anything, and he'll have an answer."

"Anything?" Draco asked with a raise of an eyebrow.

"He does have an answer, but sometimes not even himself knows how he came up with it," Harry admitted. "But he normally has the answer to any questions when it comes to homework."

"Looks like Mr Potter has found a good use of Morin," the potions master said, amused.

"And he's good company," Harry said with a cheeky smile.

"He's a good chess player," Draco said after a while.

"One of the best," Harry said. "He plays easy with me, and still wins."

"Both of you, continue," Snape said. "I'll make sure he will know how much you appreciate him."

Draco muttered something and continued with his Potions essay while Harry decided to read for the next DADA lesson.

-

Sunday morning. The sun made the snow glister beautifully. Morin stood on the steps, dressed in his winter cloak, thin leather gloves that had a permanent warming spell to them and his now long hair spilling over his shoulders. He had a content smile on his lips as he basked in the pale sunlight.

"Enjoying yourself?"

Morin turned to the cold voice and came face to face with Igor Karkaroff. The Black only raised one elegant eyebrow and said:

"Who wouldn't?"

Karkaroff spat on the ground and continued:

"You think you can hide it anymore?"

"Hide what?" Morin asked.

"Your little connection with the Dark Lord," the man said with poison in his voice.

"My what?" Morin said. "I'm afraid I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Don't joke with me," Karkaroff hissed. "You radiate of his aura, Black."

Morin looked over the grounds and then said:

"So what?"

"What?" the man asked, now confused.

"So what if I have a connection with Voldemort?" the older man said, not caring that Karkaroff flinched at the name.

"Your students would not like being taught by someone who associates with the Dark Lord," Karkaroff said with a cold smirk.

"I've had the connection with Voldemort since I was twelve," Morin said and rubbed his right arm. "And it's a mere blood oath between the two of us. A blood oath that makes a lot of trouble to him, and not me."

"And why is that?"

"Because with the blood oath he swore to never kill me," Morin said. "I said the same thing, but I can still kill him."

Karkaroff was not smiling anymore.

"And how come the Dark Lord can't kill you but you can kill him?" the man asked.

"I swore to never kill Tom Riddle," the Black said with a smile. "And I've always said that Tom Riddle and Voldemort are two different persons. Have a good day."

The older man turned to walk away. But then he stopped and turned around. He walked up to Karkaroff and said with a sickly sweet voice:

"And if you ever mention this little information to anyone, I will make Lord Voldemort's Crucios look like a newborn baby's tries at magic compared to my anger."

Karkaroff stood absolutely still even as Morin had entered the castle. After a while he said to himself:

"How did that man escape Azkaban? He's even worse than the Dark Lord himself…"

-

Morin peeked into the Great hall and saw Snape, Draco and Harry as usual, this time sitting by the Gryffindor table. He stepped back, out from view and took a deep breath. He was not feeling too good this morning. The Black ran a shaking hand through his hair and decided to skip breakfast. He nearly ran from the hall.

-

Harry looked up as he thought he felt a spike of Morin's aura. He looked intently at the door while the two others looked at him.

"Har?" Draco said finally.

The raven-haired boy turned back and said:

"Nothing… Thought I felt Morin's aura but I could be wrong."

Snape snapped his head up. He felt a fragment of the older man's aura as well. The potions master sighed and stood up while muttering:

"That man takes every chance to disobey Albus."

The potions master walked out from the hall, leaving the two students alone. Draco said after a while:

"Morin has skipped breakfast for several days now."

"Yeah," Harry said.

"He's getting skinny."

"He dare say was skinny from the beginning, Dray."

Their conversation was ended as Viktor came in with his brother. He looked around and came closer to them.

"Is it alright if we sit here?" he asked.

"Sure, go ahead," Harry said with a smile. "You're up early."

"Yeah," Viktor said and sat down. "Henry (A/N Viktor's brother's name) couldn't sleep thanks to that squid you have."

"That thing," Draco muttered, "he loves to annoy everyone. And now he got a whole ship to play with, how fun."

Henry shuddered and took a toast. He said quietly:

"Our headmaster was in a bad mood as well."

"Karkaroff?" Harry said. "Is he ever in a good mood?"

"He was in a really, really bad mood," Henry continued. "I saw him talking to your professor in Defence. Both looked angry."

"Yeah," the blonde said, "he can be pretty angry sometimes. But you don't wanna know what Morin did when I made his robes the Gryffindor colours."

"You never told me that," Harry said.

"I rather forget the whole damn thing, thank you very much."

"What did he do?" Viktor asked.

"He made all of my robes yellow," Draco said and dropped his head on the table with a 'thump'. "And refused to turn them back!"

"Yellow?" Harry asked as he tried to hold the laughter inside.

"Oh, don't laugh at me," Draco snapped. "And that was one of the more nicer things he does."

"What did he else do?" Henry asked.

"I don't know the details," the blonde said, "but I think he tortured my father."

"Why did he do that?" the older Bulgarian said with wide eyes.

"Because my father deserved it," Draco said and looked down at his toast. "Morin just paid back what my father had done on other people."

The conversation ended there, and Harry quickly steered the topic into the third task.

-

Snape opened the door to Morin's chambers and looked inside. The living room was empty but the man's cloak and gloves together with the metal boots were discarded on the floor. Snape walked inside and peered into the bedroom.

Morin was lying on the bed and staring up on the roof to the four-poster bed.

"Morin," the potions professor growled.

As an answer Morin groaned and put a shaking hand to his clammy forehead.

"I don't know what's wrong with me Severus," the older man said. "I just feel horrible."

Snape sat down on the bed and removed Morin's hand. He put his own on the Black's forehead and said:

"You got a fever, Morin. How did you get it?"

"I don't know?" came the small answer.

"You know you can't afford getting sick!" Snape exploded.

"I'm sorry!"

Snape shook his head and removed Morin's thick robe. The said man whined and tried to take it back.

"No Morin! You're burning up!"

The DADA professor hugged his torso as he was left on the bed with his trousers and undershirt. The neck shirt had Snape already removed. Snape put down the clothes in an armchair and opened the cabinet next to the man's desk.

"Morin," he said and he heard a grunt as an answer. "How the hell did you come up with all these potions?"

"I made them?"

Snape narrowed his eyes as he took a look at them. He did not really like that Morin made potions that could be used in a battle. He removed a fever-reducer potion from the cabinet and moved to the bedroom.

"Drink this," he said and gave his colleague the bottle. "All of it, and no whining."

"I'm not a child," Morin muttered and downed the potion. He grimaced "Why cannot they _ever_ taste good?"

Snape put the bottle down and said:

"I'm ordering breakfast for you."

"For Merlin's sake, don't," Morin moaned. "You want me to throw up on your robes or what?"

Snape's eyebrow twitched. The Black cowered a bit but continued:

"Please Severus. I just want some rest."

For the first time Snape noticed how tired Morin looked. The potions master sighed and took a comforter from the end of the bed. He laid it over Morin's slender body and said:

"Rest. We don't want you to get more sick."

The Black muttered 'We who?' and the younger man looked at him.

"If you get sick, I'm sure many would worry."

"Who?"

"Albus, me, Harry, Draco and their friends," Snape said. "Haven't you noticed that you're their favourite teacher?"

Morin blinked.

'Apparently not,' Snape thought.

"Just rest and we'll talk later."

The Black sank down against the pillows and closed his emerald eyes. Snape stood up but did not leave until Morin had fallen asleep. He leaned in and looked at the older man's face. The man looked much more peaceful now, his face relaxed as he let go of his worries. Snape let his eyes roam over the still figure and shook his head. He sometimes wondered why Albus did not take some of the responsibilities Morin had put on his own shoulders. Or at least get the Ministry of his back. Working the way Morin did was not good, and the Ministry did not really help.

The younger man sighed softly and waved his wand to darken the room. He then walked out to have a talk with Albus. After all, the old wizard was a bit overprotective over the Black and wanted to know if he was ill.

-

The two weeks had soon passed and Harry found himself walking to the end of Hogsmeade together with Draco and George. Hermione and Ron was both sick with the flu that was harassing the school and Fred needed to sleep in. The two others had helped Harry pack some food to Sirius; chicken legs, bread and pumpkin juice. The food was currently in Harry's bag.

The weather was mild, and soon the three boys had shed their cloaks and thrown them over their shoulders. They were walking towards the foot of the mountain in whose shadow Hogsmeade laid. As they came around a corner of the street, they saw a big, shaggy black dog waited for them with some newspapers in its mouth. Harry grinned at the familiar shape, while Draco and George were a bit more hesitant.

The dog narrowed its eyes as it saw the blonde Slytherin but as it saw Harry laugh at something Draco said it relaxed slightly.

"Hi Sirius," Harry said as they reached to where the dog was.

The black dog sniffed at Harry's bag eagerly, wagged its tail at the raven-haired teen, then turned around and began to trot away from them. The three boys followed. While it was easy for Sirius with his four paws to climb the mountain, it was much harder for the three boys. Thanks to Harry's quick reflexes, he caught Draco before the blonde could fall down the mountain side. George walked the last after that, making sure they would not fall.

Finally the dog disappeared from sight, and into a narrow path. The boys squeezed through and came into a dimly lit cave. Draco's eyes widened with fear as he spotted Buckbeak the Hippogriff, but Harry just made him bow. The Hippogriff looked at them and then bowed back. George took Draco with him to pet the giant animal.

"Chicken!" Sirius exclaimed as he changed back to human shape.

He threw the newspapers into a corner of the cave and Harry handed him the bag.

"Thanks," the man said as he tore into a chicken leg. "I've been living on rats mostly. Can't attract that much attention you know."

"Sirius," the raven-haired teen said, "I'm happy to see you but why are you here?"

"Fulfilling my duty as your godfather," Sirius said as he gnawed at the chicken bone. "And I was worried about your last letter."

Harry's last letter had been in January but Harry could not find anything strange about that letter.

"You didn't have to," the teen said. "I'm well-protected."

"I just don't like that you're with Morin Black," Sirius said. "I got some information about that fellow."

"What kind of information?" George asked. "He's been nice to us all."

"More reason to be suspicious," Sirius muttered. "First of all, he lived with my family for a while."

"He did?"

"Yeah," the man said and took a bit of bread. "Morin Black is one year younger than my mother, Walburga Black. She always spoke so high about him. Damn, she loved to brag that _the_ Morin Black had lived in the same house as her."

"When did he do that?" Harry asked.

"Rumours said his parents cut off all ties with him when he went to Hogwarts," Sirius continued. "After that, he spent the summers with the Black family, but no one except for Albus knows Morin Black's real family name."

"His parents cut off all ties with him?" Draco said. "Why?"

"He was sorted into Slytherin," the Black said. "I guess his parents weren't happy about that, because it only took them four hours to destroy his life."

The three boys were silent for a while, horror struck. Disown your son just because he was sorted into Slytherin? What kind of parents was that?

"That's why he said so," Harry mumbled suddenly.

"Said what?" Sirius asked as he took more bread.

"That he didn't know what was worse: having dead parents or having parents who don't even notice you," the raven-haired teen said and looked at his godfather.

"No matter what he says, how miserable and nice he may be," Sirius said after a while, "please, be careful around him."

"Just because he was friend with Voldemort?" Harry said angrily and got up from the sitting position he was in. "No one trusts him because he was friend with someone over fifty years ago."

"The Ministry could never prove if he was innocent after the first war," the Black said seriously.

"Why not?" George asked.

"Because he fled," Sirius said. "I honestly thought they would come with him to Azkaban, but then I heard the news."

"The news?"

"Morin Black disappeared right under the Ministry's nose," Sirius said and looked at Buckbeak. "Some said he died, and some said he was preparing the return of the Dark Lord."

"You don't know him," Harry said. "And the Ministry plant lies about him, saying he's dangerous!"

"Harry, I'm not saying that you should avoid him!" the man said. "I'm just saying you should be careful!"

"He's saved me countless times already," Harry said and looked deep into Sirius' eyes. "The first time he saved my life was the night my parents died."

"What?" Now the three humans were looking at him. At the silence, Buckbeak looked up, stopped eating and turned his head at them, blinking.

"I've had this dream all since I met Morin," Harry continued, looking at the three before staring on the ground. "I dreamed of mum, dad and a man I never recognized. In my dreams, or more like suppressed memories I guess, I hear mum and dad fight against Voldemort that night they did, but I also heard another voice who tells them to run with me. Someone who wants to buy me and my parents some time to run. Mum doesn't want to leave the voice. And I realized only recently who it was she didn't want to leave."

"Who?" Sirius said.

"The voice belonged to Morin," the boy said and looked at his godfather. "Sirius, Morin tried to protect us that night. But Voldemort got to him before that."

"Got to him before that?" the man repeated, his appetite gone.

"The nightmare I had two weeks ago, Dray," Harry said and the blonde nodded. "I saw what happened to Morin. Not all, in fact only for a moment when mum must have tried to get down, but enough to convince me he's not on Voldemort's side."

"What did you see then?" George asked carefully.

"Crucio," the boy whispered. "I saw Morin get tortured with Crucio. He must have been under the spell for so long that blood came out from his eyes, nose, mouth and ears. And his screams were so horrible to listen on, even if they only lasted for a few moments before mum covered my ears. He wasn't on Voldemort's side, Sirius. The scene was too brutal for that."

The three stared at the boy. Harry looked at the Hippogriff and continued:

"He doesn't want to hurt me, Sirius."

The man was silent and just looked at his godson. Harry blushed a bit and said:

"I also think I called him something when I was little."

"You've been having dreams about your time with James and Lily?" Sirius asked.

"Just a few," Harry said. "And most of them center on the blurry man that's Morin. It could be because I've met him now."

"What do you think you called him?" Draco asked.

"… I think I called Morin for 'Uncle'. And he always seemed so annoyed about it while mum and dad just laughed at him."

"You didn't even call me or Remus that," Sirius whispered.

"It means Morin was with mum and dad more than you two knew," Harry said. "I just wonder why he was there."

-

Morin looked up from his book as Snape entered. He tossed down a few parchments on the Black's desk and said:

"Some papers from the Ministry."

"What do they want this time?" Morin said with a sigh.

The potions master stood still as Morin read the papers. The older man pinched his nose and put the papers down.

"What was it about?" Snape asked.

"They want an 'interview' about the incident with the goblet of fire," Morin said.

"They can't just pick out one professor and want that," Snape hissed.

"I know so they have picked out a few," Morin said. "They just want to have something on me."

"But you didn't do anything, right?"

"And why would I want a fourteen-year old boy in the Tri-wizard Tournament? I'm not that evil," Morin said with a huff. "And I'm sure Harry didn't want to be in there as well."

"Do you know who could have put it in?" the younger man asked.

"No, not yet," Morin said. "No one on the castle is able to make the Dark magic I felt around the goblet. Well, everyone except for me so that makes me a suspect."

"Any Death Eaters who can make it?"

"Many, but most of them is in Azkaban," Morin said and rubbed his chin. "The magic felt so familiar, but I can't pinpoint it."

Snape looked at the man. He had dark circles under his eyes and his skin was more pale than usual.

"Are you feeling well, Morin?"

"Not really," Morin answered. "I guess stress can make anyone go insane."

"You need to make Albus take the Ministry off your back."

"After this interview," Morin said. "If I don't go, they will try remove me from the castle."

"How are you so sure?"

"You're talking to an ex-Auror. I know."

-

George and Draco had already moved on to walk back but Harry and Sirius stayed behind for a moment. Harry gave Sirius the mirror and the man looked at it.

"Are you sure?" Sirius asked.

"Sure I'm sure," Harry replied. "This way, we can talk more."

Sirius ruffled Harry's hair and put the mirror in his robe carefully.

"Now, promise me to be careful," the man said.

"I promise."

"You won't do any stupid Gryffindor-stunts?"

"No more than you do," the boy said cheekily.

Sirius huffed and said:

"I'll walk you guys back to the road."

With that he changed into the black dog and they left the cave. Draco and George stood not far away.

"It's almost five," the blonde said.

"We better hurry then."

The trip back was a lot faster and soon they had to say goodbye to the dog. Harry stroke the fur and smiled before running after the redhead and the blonde.

-

Morin poked on his food at dinner while looking over the hall. The tables were half-full, as some had already eaten dinner. His green eyes roamed over the Gryffindor table and locked with another pair of green eyes.

Harry was staring at him. Morin cooked his head and raised an eyebrow. The teen shrugged apologetically and smiled up at him. The Black raised the eyebrow higher, and the teen slumped his shoulders in defeat. As usually, he could not lie to the DADA professor; not even in a staring contest. Harry mouthed 'It's nothing' to the DADA professor and turned his head as Fred whispered something to him.

"Having a staring-contest?" Albus asked and Morin snapped his head to his right.

"No," he said calmly. "Just lost in thoughts."

"Care to enlighten me in what thoughts?" the headmaster said as he took a sip of his goblet.

"The Ministry," Morin said and he felt Albus' aura flare in anger.

"Those idiots," the old wizard muttered. "Can't even leave a poor man alone."

"Am I that poor man, Albus?"

"Maybe you are."

The Black picked up his fork again and Dumbledore said:

"I'm going to speak with Cornelius Morin. He has no right interviewing my teachers without my permission or without my presence."

The younger man, though not young, looked startled at the headmaster.

"You're not alone in this," he said. "Don't worry."

Morin's shoulders seemed to have been released by a big burden when Harry snuck a glance at the man later on.

-

Classes took up much of Harry's time all until Easter. He took every chance he could to speak with Sirius, but did not let the man convince him Morin was dangerous. So show the older man was not dangerous Harry talked to his godfather on one of the occasions he was in Morin's office. The man had only glanced up and then continued with grading essays, absently pulling at the sleeves of his robe as he read. Sirius had accepted that the man was nice enough towards the raven-haired teen.

When Easter began Harry was sitting in Morin's office as usual. For once he was reading a book of his own choice, and not some homework. With Hermione's help, Harry had finished most of the homework early. The last few could wait a day or two. He was just sitting absorbed in his book about defence Remus had given him when it knocked on the door. Morin stood up and walked over to it. He opened it and looks at his visitor.

"Harry's here," he said lightly. "I think he would like that you came in."

"Have you told him?"

"Nope."

Remus Lupin opened the door fully as he shook his head in amusement while Morin backed. The older man winked and said:

"Aah, need to go to Poppy for my weekly examination."

With that, he snuck out and left Remus and Harry alone. The werewolf smiled as he noticed Harry was too absorbed in the book to even notice him. He closed the door and said:

"Hello Harry."

The boy looked up, startled. He dropped the book as he recognized the person in front of him.

"Professor?"

"I'm not a professor anymore," Remus corrected. "Call me Remus, and give me a hug."

Harry grinned and got up. Remus was amazed by the teen's strength as two slender arms hugged his middle tightly.

"What are you doing here?" Harry asked with delight.

"Albus wanted me over for Easter," Remus said, "and he said I could help Morin a bit with his younger classes. The poor man is not so good with dangerous animals I'm afraid."

"So you're staying longer?!"

"For the rest of the year," Remus answered. "I won't have you in class but you can visit me."

Harry bounced around in the room, grinning. Then he remembered something and calmed down.

"Remus…?"

"Yes?"

"Have you spoken to Padfoot recently?" Harry asked.

"… No," the werewolf answered. "I haven't gotten the chance."

Harry went and locked the door before pulling out the mirror. He tapped on it twice with his wand, so it would alert Sirius. Soon the man's face showed up.

"Hi," the boy said to his godfather. "I got someone you would like to talk to."

He gave the mirror to Remus, who turned it up and widened his eyes.

"Remus?!" Sirius' voice shouted. "Is it really you?"

"Yes," he said and sank down on a chair. "It's me. Harry, where did you get this?"

"Christmas gift," Harry said. "I told you about my new friends, right?"

The man nodded.

"Well, Pansy gave me those," the Gryffindor said with a grin. "I gave one to Sirius, so we could talk more often."

"Harry, where are we?" Sirius asked.

"In Morin's office," the teen answered as he stepped up next to Remus to look into the mirror. "He had to go and left us alone."

Sirius beamed up at Remus, who was smiling back. Harry returned to his book as the two friends began to speak.

-

"Your health is good for now," Madam Pomfrey said as she lowered the wand. "But I still want you to take the nutrient potion once a week."

"Do I really need to?" Morin asked.

"Yes," the witch said. "You are eating but not enough. And Severus said you're trying to skip breakfast."

"Bloody traitor…" the Black muttered under his breath.

"What did you say?"

"Nothing," he replied and waved his hand. "What does her Highness want me to do else?"

"Breakfast, lunch and dinner," she said sternly as she walked to the cabinet not far from the bed. "Doesn't matter where you eat these meals, the main point is that you eat three meals a day."

"I think I can manage that," the man said and sat up.

"It's for your own good," the witch said. "And Severus said he had your potion ready."

"Great," Morin muttered as he got up from the bed.

"You should only need it once or twice more," she said more gently. "You know what it's there for."

"Yes I do know that, but I can't understand why I need to get Tom's blood out of my body."

"He possessed you once with help of that," Madam Pomfrey said. "Severus was witness to that. The blood connection is too dangerous."

Morin just nodded and left. He knew it was not good for him to have a blood connection with Tom Riddle. It meant he had one with Voldemort as well. But when he searched his heart he did not want anyone to remove the blood from him. He felt like the blood, while it was indeed a curse, it could also become a blessing and a saving. Voldemort had possessed him once; could not Morin reverse that?

Tbc…

* * *

**EDITED 2010-01-13**

Until later,

Ja,

Tiro


	11. Ch 10: The Rebirth of a Monster

**Reverse of a Dark Future**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Harry Potter, JK Rowling does. She is a wonderful author and I love her Harry Potter books. I do not own any of the persons in this fic **except** for Morin Black. He's mine, I created him!

**Spoilers**: Um, book four and five. Only a bit though in the fourth book, and book five does not happen in this fic except that I mention some things and some creatures you should be aware about. Good if you have read up to book five. Book six or seven does not happen at all.

It's not spoilers, but I will warn you that all of the characters will be a bit different. The most major ones are Snape, Draco, the Weasley twins, Percy and Voldemort. Oh, and Harry will be a bit different, and I warn you it will be a bit mental abuse from the Dursleys directed to our little Harry.

And beware, because I am an evil girl and I have changed Voldemort's past!

Not everything will center on Harry, but most of the time it will together with Morin. Morin is involved in Harry's whole life and they will get close to each other. Some parts will be all Morin, but I will not make this fic so it will only be about Morin, don't worry.

**Pairings**: Slight pairing between Morin and Voldemort.

-

**EDITED 2010-01-20**

-

**Chapter Ten: The Rebirth of a Monster**

Most of the students were happy when they discovered their ex-professor in DADA was back. Many seemed to have forgotten he was a werewolf, or they did not care about that fact. He was an excellent teacher for the younger children, and Morin gladly let off some of the burdens he had to the younger man.

Harry spent a lot of time pouring over his homework, talking to Remus and Morin about defence and speaking to Sirius. One day in the end of May, McGonagall held him back after a lesson in Transfiguration.

"Potter, Mr Bagman will explain the third task tonight at nine by the Quidditch pitch. Be there on time."

Half past eight that night Harry left Ron and Hermione in Gryffindor Tower and went downstairs. After the way he met up with Cedric and they fell in step with each other.

"What do you reckon the third task is?" he asked the shorter teen as they went down the stone steps and out into the cloudy yet warm night.

"No idea," Harry answered.

They walked down to the Quidditch stadium, turned through a gap in the stand and walked out onto the pitch. They both stopped dead in their path.

"What have they done to it?" Cedric asked, horrified.

The Quidditch pitch was no longer smooth and flat. It looked like someone had been building long, low walls over the pitch, twisting and criss-crossing in every direction.

"Hedges?" Harry said to himself and bent down to examine the closest one.

"Hello there!"

They both turned around to look at Bagman, who was standing in the middle of the pitch with Fleur and Viktor. The two made their way to the middle by climbing over the hedges. Fleur smiled to them both, as the ice between them had disappeared after the Yule ball for some reason. Viktor nodded his head to the two and even gave Harry a small smile.

"What do you think?" Bagman said happily as Harry and Cedric had reached them. "Give Hagrid a month and these beauties will be around six metres tall! Oh don't worry you two; the pitch will be left as it was afterwards, all nice and flat. Now, do you know why these hedges are here?"

No one spoke for a moment.

"Maze?" Viktor asked grumpily.

"That's right!" Bagman said. "A maze. The third task is very straightforward. The Tri-wizard Cup will be placed in the centre of the maze and the first to touch it will receive full marks."

"We 'ave to get through the maze?" Fleur said. "That's all?"

"There will be obstacles," the man said happily and the four champions wondered how he could be so happy about it. "Hagrid is providing some creatures, there is spells that has to be broken… all that sort of things you know. Now, the champions who are leading on points will get a head start into the maze." At this, Bagman grinned at Harry and Viktor. "Then Mr Diggory will enter, and lastly will be Miss Delacour. But you will all have a fighting chance, depending on how well you get past the obstacles. Doesn't it sound fun?"

Harry, who knew too well what kind of creatures that Hagrid could provide an event like this, knew it would be everything but fun. However, he nodded politely with the other champions.

"Very well. If you haven't any question, we'll go back to the castle. The air is becoming a bit chilly."

The man hurried up to walk alongside Harry, who inwardly groaned. When was the man going to leave him alone?? Bagman began to turn to him, when a tap on his shoulder made him turn his head around.

"A moment?" Viktor asked.

"Sure," Harry answered.

"Want me to wait?" Bagman asked.

"No thank you," the Gryffindor answered. "I can find my way back to castle on my own."

Viktor walked a bit and they stopped not far from Hagrid's hut, just where no one could see them. Harry turned to the Bulgarian and said:

"Thanks."

"My pleasure," Viktor replied. "Why is he offering help?"

"I don't know, and I don't like it. It's like he wants me to win, no matter what," Harry answered.

They talked a bit about the third task before Harry moved to the castle and Viktor towards the Durmstrang ship.

-

Morin was sitting in the teachers lounge was writing on a parchment when a chill suddenly ran down his spine. He sat up straight, scaring both Remus and Snape that was sitting not so far from the Black and the only other teachers in the room.

"Morin?" the potions professor said.

The man did not seem to hear. Instead he turned his eyes to the window, and seemed to listen. Then he stood up abruptly and all but ran out the door. The two younger men glanced at each other before following.

-

Morin was running down the stairs, down the corridor and towards the entrance door. He met Bagman and Cedric who both seemed to have entered not long ago.

"Mr Black, what's the rush?" Bagman said happily.

"Where is Harry?" Morin asked.

"He was with Viktor," Cedric said. "What's wrong?"

Morin knew it was not Viktor who had done anything, but someone had. Without answering their questions he ran outside.

The still form of the Gryffindor lay not too far away while a figure was bent over him with a bloodied knife in his hand. The figure pointed a wand against a bottle with something that looked a lot like blood and it disappeared. Morin growled, ripped out his wand and screamed:

"Stupefy!"

The figure was thrown away several metres by the strong curse and Morin ran to Harry. The teen seemed to have been hit by a Stupefy as well. Morin saw a deep cut in the boy's left arm and murmured a healing-spell. The wound disappeared instantly.

"Enervate," Morin spoke softly and Harry opened his eyes.

"Morin?" he said groggily as the man helped him sit up. "What happened?"

"Harry!"

Morin looked up at the running figures. Snape, Remus, Cedric, Bagman and McGonagall. As soon as the potions master and the werewolf came to the Gryffindor, the older man rose up and walked with his wand ready to the figure. Suddenly a wand shot up and the figure screamed out:

"Stupefy!"

The curse hurled against Morin and everyone shouted. Morin did not move. He raised one hand and the spell stopped. He gently embraced the red light with his hand and when he opened his palm again the spell was gone. His aura began to leak up and wrapped him in an eerie light. Harry watched the man close his eyes for a brief moment and then looking at the figure again. He raised his wand slowly towards the figure and said calmly yet dangerously:

"Hello traitor Peter Pettigrew."

-

Aurors were called immediately by the headmaster while Morin made sure Pettigrew could not escape. The shock of seeing the old traitor had made Harry forget about the fact he almost had been killed, although the others did notice. Morin looked over at them as Snape rubbed Harry's shoulder to calm him down and Remus was speaking quietly to him. Dumbledore was standing next to the potions master and Morin turned his eyes to the ratlike man again. He kneeled down in front of the traitor and Pettigrew flinched. Morin's young face twisted for a moment in anger before he calmed himself down and growled:

"Where did you send the blood?"

"I don't know," Pettigrew said. "Not even the Dark Lord knows. It was an emergency spot, and there is thousands around the world."

"Do you know where they are?" Black continued.

Pettigrew obviously knew, but he looked away with a weak "No I don't."

"Don't lie to me Peter", Morin said softly with a small smile and put the tip of his wand to the man's forehead. "One move I don't like, and I will kill you."

"Fine!" he said with a tremble. "I know them."

Morin locked eyes with Pettigrew and his smile grew wider. Luckily no one noticed. But the ratlike man noticed, and chills ran along his spine. This was the man Voldemort had warned him about.

"Legilimens."

Morin looked into Pettigrew's mind slowly, not wanting the man to go insane before he could confess all about the betrayal. He found the places quickly and pulled that memory out into a bottle.

"Thank you", he said to the dazed man. "Now you are going to tell the Ministry all about your betrayal."

"No, I didn't do anything!" Pettigrew tried.

"Liar!" Harry screamed but was held back by Remus and Snape.

"Indeed," the DADA professor said and stood up, the wand never leaving the man's trembling form. "Luckily, you are not very good at lying. The Aurors won't have much trouble to make you confess."

Soon David, the one who had helped Morin with their special class, came in along with four others.

"Thank you for keeping a watch over him," David said. "This shouldn't take long, but maybe it's better you wait outside."

They were currently in Dumbledore's office, as they had moved into the castle before calling the Aurors, and the headmaster nodded. He ushered them all out and then there was only to wait.

-

One hour later Pettigrew had confessed under Verisatum and David came out. He looked around and noticed Dumbledore, Remus, Snape, Morin and Harry were waiting. Morin was entertaining the teen with chess.

"He confessed," the Auror said and they snapped their heads to his direction. "I've notified the minister, and he grudgingly accepted to take down the wanted posters of Sirius Black. If we can find him, he will be released from all charges."

"How good," the headmaster said. "What will happen to Peter?"

"He will have the Dementors kiss," David said. "We'll do it at the Ministry."

Harry wanted to jump high in the air. Sirius was a free man! Remus seemed to try not jump as well, but was still fidgeting a bit as David and Dumbledore continued to speak.

"Check mate," Morin said calmly and the boy whirled around.

"What?" he said. "I thought I had you for once!"

"Too bad," the man replied. "How about you go up to your dorm and tell your friends the happy news?"

"But I can't even tell Dray, Blaise or Pansy," Harry whined.

"You can tell them tomorrow", Remus said. "I'm sure they can wait until then."

"Off to bed," Morin said.

"Fine, fine."

"Maybe someone could walk with him?" David said. "I don't know if Pettigrew had someone with him."

"I doubt he had but maybe a bit precaution just in case," Morin said.

"I can go with you," Remus said.

"Okay," the teen replied and they walked off.

-

Harry had practically been shaking of excitement as he told Ron, Hermione, Fred and George.

"Sirius is free?" Hermione whispered. "That's great!"

They were sitting in the common room and the girl had cast a silencing spell over them so no one would hear them.

"Have you told him that?" Ron asked.

"Remus did it for me," the raven-haired boy said. "Sirius would lay low for a while and then go to the Ministry to sort things out."

"So Pettigrew is caught now?" Ron said bitterly.

"It wasn't your fault he escaped from the beginning," Harry said. "You couldn't have known."

Ron nodded and looked down at his hands.

"Harry?" George suddenly asked. "What happened to your sleeve?"

"Huh?"

Harry looked down at the torn left sleeve of his sweater.

"You got blood on it as well," Hermione almost shrieked. However, she jumped up to have a look.

"Morin said I was hurt and he healed the cut," the raven-haired teen said. "I'm fine."

"Sure?"

"Yes mother."

Hermione huffed at the teen who laughed a bit.

"Well, if you insist I'm your mother, then off to bed!" she said. "All of you!"

"No, why?" Ron whined.

"We have to practice to the exams in the morning!" Hermione answered.

The two of them argued back and forth as Harry, Fred and George looked on. The twins looked at each other and shrugged. Harry sighed.

'Here we go again.'

-

The time for the third task came too quickly according to Harry. Suddenly he lay there in bed on the day of the third and final task. He twisted onto his stomach and sighed. His nerves were in a mess already, and it was only morning!

As he was a champion, he would not need to do any exams and therefore had the whole day free. Hermione and Ron had exams in DADA, History of Magic and Ron had an exam in Divination while Hermione had one in Runes. So that left Harry alone for pretty much of the whole day.

He twisted again to get a hold of the melody box. He cast a silencing spell around his bed and opened the lid. The melody began to play and Harry relaxed. Now when he came to think about it, he had not seen Morin for a while. Dumbledore had even announced three days ago that the man was away on important business, but Remus would hold in the DADA exams. The Gryffindor wondered what Morin was doing, as no one was too keen to answer him.

Harry almost screamed as a hand landed on his shoulder. He turned around and saw…

"George?" Noticing the spell was still intact, he released it and said again, "George?"

"Hi," the Weasley twin said awkwardly. "Mind if I sit down?"

"What are you doing here?"

"He's not alone," a voice answered.

Harry peeked over George's shoulder and saw Fred tip-toe into the room.

"We've done our exams already," George said, "and we thought you wouldn't mind some company."

"And what possessed you to come here at six in the morning?"

"Couldn't sleep," they answered with identical shrugs and jumped into his bed.

The twins made themselves comfortable and Harry shrugged and turned his attention to the melody again. When they had not disturbed him in ten minutes he looked over at them and smiled a bit.

They lay just next to him, Fred hugging George close to him. George had thrown a leg and arm over Fred and they had both fallen asleep. Harry sighed, put the melody box down on the sheets without closing the lid, lay back on the pillows and closed his eyes.

'Feels nice…'

Within minutes he fell asleep with his back to George.

-

Ron woke up around seven-thirty, and groaned. He had three exams and no Harry with him to suffer with. Well, may as well get up and fail them all. Though he might do good in DADA…

He got up from the bed and after a quick visit to the shower room he had freshened up. He pulled on his robes and thought of maybe waking Harry up. But as he came to his friend's bed, he was slightly surprised.

His two brothers were there as well. George had turned so that his back was flush against Fred's chest and Fred had simply rounded his arms around his brother's middle. Harry was lying on his back with the melody box by his head. It was still playing.

Ron put down his bag and put the covers over the three of them. He gently closed the lid to the box and Harry moved to his side towards George.

"Lucky you, you get to sleep long," he muttered to his friend. "See you later."

He put the melody box on the nightstand and left to see if Hermione was up.

-

Morin sat down on a rock in the chilling morning air and sighed. Ever since Pettigrew sent away the blood and Black had gotten the memory of that, the man had been searching for that little bottle of blood. So far, no success. Places checked: 589.

He hung his head as he thought of how many he had left to check. Snape had taken on to check places in England and Scotland, and maybe some countries in Europe.

Morin was in Germany right now, sitting somewhere in the bloody Alps. Not too far away was one of the locations the blood could have ended up. He rose up and picked up his robe. Yes, it was in June but the air was not so warm where he was. He put it around himself and began to walk. Bloody Pettigrew, trying to obey Voldemort for once. Could he not just fail like he always did? Morin muttered curses under his breath all the way up to the location.

Nothing. He almost fell to his knees in desperation. He had been to now 590 bloody places and no one had the bottle! There had been no magical traces of any other wizard on those places, so no Death Eater could have gotten it. Unless they were the same level as Voldemort and could therefore hide their traces completely, which Morin seriously doubted.

Morin shook his head to rid away the dizziness and decided he should go to Hogwarts for now. He had to rest his eyes for a bit.

-

Harry woke up around eight-thirty, and blinked drowsily. He was snuggled into something or… someone?

"The sleepy-head woke up," a voice a bit away laughed.

He looked up at George, who he was snuggled into. Then he turned his head and saw Fred sitting just a bit away, cross-legged and a book his in lap. Harry sat up slowly and yawned.

"What time is it?" he asked.

"Breakfast time," George declared.

"Why didn't you wake me up if you were feeling hungry?"

"Because we didn't want to."

Harry pulled on his robes and the twins ran to their dorm to change to their robes. Harry put on his glasses and stretched. For some reason he was a bit calmer about the third task. He had no idea why.

-

Morin almost dragged himself to his chambers, and just as he was going to just sit down on the floor and pass out, a pair of arms caught him gently. He looked up at the headmaster and said:

"Sorry for just coming in, but I want to rest."

"Of course," Dumbledore said. "I would be worried if you didn't come back. Now let's get you into bed, and maybe you'll wake up in time to wish Harry good luck."

"Is it already time for the third task?"

"Yes."

Morin let the old wizard lead him to his chambers. He did not even protest as Dumbledore removed his boots and robes. The headmaster gently pulled up the man from where he had sunken down in a chair and steered him to the bedroom.

Morin slowly sat down and when he realized how soft and warm the bed was he fell back with a 'thump' and almost melted into the mattress. Aah, he could fall asleep for eternity. He heard the older man's soft laughter and felt as Dumbledore turned him so that he was lying comfortable.

"I want Poppy or Severus to check on you," Dumbledore said. "Which one?"

"Severus," Black mumbled. "He doesn't ask too many questions, and doesn't poke me in the ribs."

"As you wish. I'll go to him straight away."

-

The Great Hall was empty except for the three Gryffindors, and to their surprise, two more redheads. Molly and Bill Weasley had almost given Harry a heart attack as McGonagall had told him the champions' families would be there to support them. He did not think much of it, since he had no real family.

Just minutes later, Molly and Bill came through the door to the Great Hall. The twins had gaped and Harry had stared.

Now they were sitting and eating breakfast when Snape stepped in. The only place that had food was by the Gryffindor table and the five of them. Snape hoped he would not give Molly a heart attack as he sat down next to Harry.

"Severus?" Molly asked, bewildered.

"Morning sir," the raven-haired teen said brightly.

"I rather wish for it to be night," the potions master muttered.

"Pulled another all-nighter?" Harry said with a chuckle. "You never learn."

"Oh, hush brat," Snape said and Molly gaped.

She snapped her mouth close soon enough and began to eat again.

Only a few minutes later the headmaster peeked inside. He saw them, smiled and walked over to them.

"Albus?" the potions professor asked, confused.

"I've been looking for you," the old wizard said.

"What for?" the man asked as he took a sip of his tea.

"I want someone to check up on Morin, and he doesn't want Poppy."

Snape almost choked on his tea and whipped his head towards Dumbledore.

"Is Morin in the castle?" he said.

"Yes, he returned only 15 minutes ago. Knowing him, he's probably asleep but I still want someone to check up on him," the headmaster said. "Oh, and it seems Harry wants to see Morin as well."

"No kidding," George said. "It looks he's ready to kill if you don't let him."

-

Harry was nearly bouncing next to Snape as they were walking to Morin's chambers. Truth to be told, he had never been in the older man's private chambers and he was a bit exited.

"There is no need to work away your energy, child," the potions master said.

"But I haven't seen him in like three weeks!" the teen said. "That's a long time!"

They came to the door, and Snape opened it. Harry was met by a comfy looking living room. The high windows made sure that it came in a lot of light. There was one sofa and three armchairs around a table. It was a hearth but no fire lit so the room was a bit chilly. The colours were all in a dark blue colour, but that did not change Harry's opinion of a warm-looking place.

Snape walked through the living room and pushed a door open. Harry quickly followed. The potions master gently shook Morin's shoulder and the older man woke up.

"Severus?" he said groggily.

"Well, don't you look like shit," Snape said. "You need a shower and a hair cut now."

"Not now," Morin moaned. "Please…"

"No, no pleases will work with me," the man snapped and dragged up the older man to a sitting position. "Harry, go and tap up a bath."

The teen turned around and walked to the bathroom. It was not so hard to find, since it was to the door next to the bedroom. He tapped up water into the bathtub and looked around. There was some crystals he knew made the water smell good. He looked at them all, and then decided on one that smelled faintly of vanilla.

Snape pushed Morin into the bathroom and the man took a deep breath.

"That vanilla is my favourite," he said to Harry. "Thank you."

"Alright, I'll wait with Harry outside. Take a bath and put on these clothes later."

"Yes mother."

"Call me mother and I'll cut off all of your hair."

"I'll just make it grow back."

"I'm telling Poppy the results of my examination," the potions master growled.

"Alright, alright, I won't call you mother," Morin huffed and ushered them out. "Now let me be alone."

He shut the door and Snape shook his head.

"Calling me mother of all the bloody things…"

Harry tried not to laugh.

-

When Morin emerged 20 minutes later, he looked better. He was drying his hair with a towel and said:

"You're right about the hair cut. The hair reaches my waist."

Another 20 minutes and Morin's hair had been cut to almost the hairstyle he had when he arrived in August at Hogwarts.

"Can I go to sleep now?" the older man said.

"Harry, take him to the bedroom, but don't let him fall asleep," the potions professor said. "You skipped breakfast, Morin."

"I skipped it because I wanted to my bed and sleep," the man whined.

The man fell down on his bed and Harry sat down on it. Morin looked at the teen and said:

"Tonight is the third task, right?"

"Yeah," Harry said.

"Nervous?"

"Not so much actually," the teen answered.

"I'm sorry, but I probably won't be able to come," Morin said. "I'm a bit too tired for such activities."

"It's alright," Harry said. "I'll just pester you about it afterwards."

Snape soon came in with some light food for the man and examined him while Morin ate.

"Morin, have you had a cold?"

"Yes," the man said. "Why?"

"Still recovering from it?"

"Eeerm…"

"Don't even try to lie."

"Yes, I'm still recovering from it," Morin said. "But I'm fine."

"You rarely are fine," Snape said as he stood up. "Well, it's almost gone and for once that's the only wrong with you."

"You make it sound like I'm wearing one disease after another. That's creepy."

"Eat up and go to sleep."

"I'm not going to complain about that."

-

Harry looked at Morin's face as the man slept. Snape was talking to the headmaster in the living room and they seemed to have put up silencing spells so Harry would not hear. Not that he was so interested at the moment. He was more interested in Morin's wellbeing.

He looked around the bedroom. There was a whole wall filled with books and the raven-haired teen rose up and went to them. He ran a finger along the books as he read the titles. Potions, Dark Arts, Black Magic, Light Magic, Celt language… the man seemed to have every book he needed to become a Dark Lord. But then Harry looked a bit further up. Ancient Runes, Charms, Herbology and a book… the same book Harry had given Snape as a Christmas gift. He stretched up and took it down. Unlike Snape's, this copy of the book was old.

The boy sat down and opened it at a random page. Morin's elegant handwriting covered almost all free spaces with notes and comments. Harry found himself reading the comments, and sometimes burst out in laughter as Morin had written something ridiculous.

"What do you find so amusing?" Morin's drowsy voice said.

Harry got up on his feet. The older man was up on his elbows with a raised eyebrow though he looked more asleep than awake.

"Your comments in this book," Harry said and showed it. "Sorry I looked through your books without asking."

"It alright," the man said and waved his hand. "Just keep your hands away from the Dark Arts and Black Arts, will you? I'm going back to sleep."

"Do so."

The man fell back and burrowed his head in the pillow. Within minutes, he was out again.

-

As the day progressed Harry became more and more nervous. He spent his time with the four Weasleys and they took a tour around Hogwarts to have something to do.

"Mum? Bill?" Ron asked, shocked, as he sat down to eat lunch.

"Hello sweetie," Molly said.

"What are you two doing here?"

"We're here to cheer on Harry," Bill said. "Charlie wanted to come but he couldn't find the time to do it."

"How did the exams go?" Molly asked her son as Hermione sat down. "Hello Hermione."

"Mrs Weasley," the girl said happily and began to eat.

"Well, I think it went well in DADA," Ron said, "but I forgot some names in History of Magic. It was alright, mum, you just need to write down some strange names and you'll be fine."

"Honestly Ron," Hermione said, "you're a hopeless case."

"Count me in on that," Harry said. "I suck at History of Magic."

"And just thinking of the exams in Divination makes me depressed," the youngest redhead continued with a groan. "I hate it."

"Why do you have it then?" the bushy-haired girl said. "You could have chosen Ancient Runes or…"

"Don't begin 'Mione!" Ron cut off. "I know; I'm an idiot!"

"You're not. You just made some bad choices," Hermione informed. "We better hurry to our last exam. Or you should; you have a long way to go."

Ron swallowed his food, and jumped up. He checked his watch and went out from the hall in a light sprint. Hermione followed minutes later.

-

Morin woke up suddenly and sat up abruptly in his bed. There was a mass of magic radiating near one of the places the bottle of blood could have ended up. And the place was not far from a small village. He swore as he realized from which village and got up from the bed.

He grabbed his clothes and pulled them on. Black pants, a white shirt and a black neck shirt over the shirt. He snapped on his robe onto the neck shirt and pulled on the necklace Harry had given him around his neck. He snapped the two bracelets onto his wrists and made sure his wand was with him. He nearly ran from his chambers and prayed he would get there in time.

-

Harry was slightly disappointed when Snape announced Morin was gone by the time he was going down to the Quidditch pitch.

"Don't worry," the potions master said. "I'm sure he's fine."

"Yeah," the teen said. "I better go then."

"It seems Mr Bagman is escorting the others down to the pitch," Snape said. "Go with them."

Harry nodded and caught up to the group of four. He fell in step with Viktor, who nodded to him. The teen looked up at the darkening sky and thought he felt a flare of Morin's magic. The man was just so unpredictable sometimes…

-

Morin followed the Death Eater, who was walking towards a cemetery. He wanted to stop the man right here and now, but knew he could not afford it. He needed Voldemort in a human form before the dark wizard could be killed.

As he floated along within the shadows, Morin once more began to think of a way to remove Voldemort's soul-piece from the young Potter without killing him. Deep inside, a murmur, Morin hushed the older Harry gently, already knowing what he had to go through to remove the piece. Moving his mind away from that particular problem for the moment, he began to think of the other Horcruxes. One easy to get would be Ravenclaw's diadem, certain it was in the Room of Requirement. He had time to go there later.

Nagini would be a bit of a trouble to destroy though. Even though the Dark Lord had yet to gain a body, the snake was rarely away from him. Morin needed to lure Nagini away from Voldemort before he attempted anything. He sighed as he thought he had to shake off the dust of his Parseltongue speech.

The Death Eater turned around slightly and the man retreated further into the shadows. This would all be in vain if he was discovered. The Death Eater soon continued to walk and Morin continued to follow to the place that would bring Voldemort back to power.

-

Harry was running through a narrow way between two hedges. He and Viktor had started only minutes ago and he stopped to survey his surroundings. So far he had only met dead-ends and one of those horrible Blast-Ended Skrewts – a creature they had worked on in Care of Magical Creatures and a creature Harry hated with passion. He looked around and used the spell Hermione had taught him. He placed his wand on his palm and whispered:

"Point north."

The wand trembled and then made a sharp left turn. That way was north. Harry took a hold of his wand and began going that direction.

-

Morin was tempted, so tempted, to just get out and kill that bloody Death Eater. He refrained himself and watched as the man, whoever it was, continued to dig up Voldemort's father's grave. A bundle lying a bit away next to a cauldron moved and pain shot through Morin's right arm. As suspected, the blood oath had not gone away despite Dumbledore's, Snape's and Poppy's effort. Of course, Morin had already known that but indulged them. How he knew? If Voldemort wanted to have the blood oath, then the Dark Lord would keep it.

He saw Nagini slither around the grave and shrank into the shadows a bit more. That bloody snake was a bit too good to notice people. If the bundle was Voldemort, Morin was surprised he had not alerted the Death Eater yet.

Or maybe Voldemort knew that Morin was not here to kill him. The DADA professor leaned back into the comforting shadows and waited.

-

Harry had dismissed three Bogarts, who all turned into those Dementors, met another Blast-Ended Skrewts and come across a spider as big as the one he met in his second year, Aragog.

Now he was standing and resting a bit. He had no idea how much time had passed since he begun, but that was not really his priority at the moment. He was busy doing another 'Point north' while he looked around. He had seen a red blast being sent up, meaning one of the four champions had given up.

The wand had finished and he looked into a solid hedge wall. He walked to find a road to run north with, since he was too far west.

-

The Death Eater had just started the fire and put the cauldron on it. Morin looked out from the shadows for a bit and then leaned back. He went through different defensive and offensive spells just in case Voldemort would be a bit cranky with him. After all, their last encounter had not really ended that good. Although, if they would really be fair, it should be Morin that would be cranky.

Morin shut his eyes as he recalled that moment, the night Voldemort vanished. Now afterwards he had felt it was the right decision to make. Harry had deflected the killing curse once, that was true, but Voldemort's body had not disappeared then. The killing curse had simply shot past the dark wizard into the night. But as Voldemort had accidentally put a part of his soul into the killing curse, some of his powers and that piece of soul had been sealed inside Harry's scar.

The distraction had given Morin enough time running out from the house and meeting up with Hagrid. He had convinced the half-giant that the Dark Lord was gone but Death Eaters lured around and had watched the man disappear with the Boy-Who-Lived.

Then he had turned back to face his old friend for what he had hoped would be a final time.

Morin shook his head as he remembered that. His magic was spiking, and nothing good would come out of that. That Death Eater was not a very strong one, but the way his magic spiked up it would be a miracle if the man did not notice.

-

The Gryffindor looked around. This was frustrating. He had seen one more red blast, which meant there was only two left. Harry had found himself in a strange round circle with five exits. He sat down, intending to catch his breath and think of a plan. His scar was hurting for some reason and thought of Morin popped up all the time. He rubbed the scar with his hand and sighed, frustrated. This was getting nowhere.

He was dirty, had burnt his hands because of those bloody Blast-Ended Skrewts and he above else was tired. He tiredly made another 'Point north' and to his surprise it did not move. He tried another angle:

"Point Tri-wizard Cup."

Once again, the wand lay still. Harry looked around and said to himself:

"I'm in the middle of this whole maze?"

-

It was almost finished. Morin looked at the bubbling liquid and saw how the man picked up the bundle from the ground. The older man gripped his wand, trying not to screw this up while he chanted in his head:

'I'm sorry Harry.'

-

Harry walked around in the middle. He thought of spells he had learned that would let him see unknown objects. When he found none, he sat down frustrated. Then Morin's words showed up in his head. The man had talked a lot with him during the year, but this one suddenly seemed so clear.

_-Flashback-_

_Harry entered the office to find Morin sitting on the floor with bent head and his hands sitting loosely in his lap, legs crossed Indian-style._

"_Um… Morin?"_

"_Hmm?" Black answered and lifted his head. His eyes were still closed._

"_What are you doing?" the teen asked as he closed the door._

"_Come here."_

_The Gryffindor sat down in front of Morin and the older wizard opened his eyes. The deep pools of emerald were calm, calmer than anytime Harry had seen them. _

"_It's a kind of exercise,"__ Morin began absently. "Where you focus of 'seeing' with your magic rather than your eyes."_

"_You can do that?"_

"_It's easy,"__ Morin said. "Just relax and close your eyes."_

_The teen complied and felt Morin's cool hands pressing against his temples. Instantly he felt calm._

"_Do you feel this calmness sinking over you?" Morin's voice was heard._

"_Yeah…" Harry mumbled._

"_I'm showing you the first time how your mind is supposed to be. Now try that on your own."_

_Harry had closed his eyes once more and relaxed. It took a few tries, but soon he had managed._

"_Now,"__ Morin continued, "stretch out your magic. Start with me."_

_That bit was a bit harder, but after a few tries Harry gasped as he could 'see' the man even though he had closed eyes._

"_Cool,"__ he said._

_He had seen Morin's lips forming into a pleasant smile._

_-End flashback-_

He sat down, laid his wand in his lap and closed his eyes. He imagined Morin's cool hands on his temples again and fell into a calming state. He then slowly began to stretch his magic and soon he 'saw' the cup. He turned his head in that direction and opened his eyes. He rose up and walked to the spot. As his fingers stretched out, the cup became visible. Making sure it was not a trap, and ensuring himself it was for real, he now carefully touched it.

It shone up and sent up a set of blinding white stars. Harry grinned. He had actually won.

But just as he thought that, a pain unbelievable to anything else exploded in his forehead. He screamed in agony and was not even aware he fell to the ground as blood poured out from his scar.

-

Morin watched on as Voldemort inspected his new body. The Death Eater had called on the other Death Eaters. Morin swore as he realized this might become too much for him to handle, but he needed some damn good information for making up the mistake he did by letting Voldemort gain back his body.

Soon soft apparating sounds were heard and Death Eaters began to file in. Voldemort looked around and began to comment of the missing places. Morin noted Snape was not there. The potions master had a good explanation to the Dark Lord though; Dumbledore.

Suddenly the reborn man whirled around and came face to face with… a shadow.

"What's wrong my lord?" a Death Eater called out.

Voldemort however did not even listen. His heart beat faster, his hands began to shake the tiniest bit and a smile formed on his lips. He raised his wand against the shadow and said:

"Come out, Morin."

-

Harry withered around in pain and arched his back as another jolt sent him almost into unconsciousness.

Suddenly gentle arms held him and he pried his eyes open to look at the worried faces of Snape and Remus.

"Harry?" Dumbledore's voice sounded to his right. "It's alight Harry; Poppy is on her way."

He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. He kept trying even though the three adults said it was alright. He summoned up all the willpower he had and spoke:

"Y-you ha-ave to he… lp him…"

"Help who?" Remus asked gently.

"He-lp h-him… before Vol-oldemort gets t-to h-him…"

"I'm afraid we don't know who you are talking about," the headmaster said worriedly.

Harry began to raise one arm. He brought it up in the air and gasped:

"Mo-orin…"

-

The Death Eaters thought their lord had gone insane, when they heard a chuckle from the bloody shadow.

"Always the observant," a voice echoed in the shadow and a person stepped out.

Voldemort stopped short on any comments he had. Pale face, raven black hair framing his face perfectly and emerald orbs; no matter how much time passed, Morin had not aged. The Dark Lord wanted to reach out and caress that black hair as he always did when they were in school. He wanted to swing up Morin in his arms just to see those lips forming that eternal shining smile.

But instead he stood still, drinking Morin's looks in. He noted the necklace and chuckled slightly.

"What's so funny?" Morin asked, tilting his head to the side, as if he was not talking to the Dark Lord of the century.

"That necklace of yours," Voldemort said. "I don't know why but it seems so… you."

"Well, thank you," Morin said. "But it seems like your followers seems rather surprised over our chat."

The dark wizard turned his head and hissed:

"You will come again when I call."

They apparated away. Voldemort turned back to Morin and said:

"I'm a bit surprised."

"Over what?"

"That you're here," the man said and began to walk up to the raven-haired man. Morin did not move backwards.

"Well, I'm a bit surprised as well," Morin answered and shivered as one of Voldemort's thin hands came to rest on his cheek.

"Your skin is cold," Voldemort murmured.

"My skin has always been cold, Tom." The name slipped out from Morin's mouth before he could stop himself.

The dark wizard would have tried to kill anyone who called him that name. But not Morin. The Dark Lord had an unusually amount of patience when it came to the emerald-eyed man. He moved close and slid his hand down to take a closer look at Morin's necklace. He noted absently that the man had lowered his guard far too much.

"You let me get my body back so you can kill me," the dark wizard said after a while as he traced the snake on the necklace with one long finger.

"Am I that obvious?" Morin said.

"Not normally. But your guard isn't up," Voldemort said and pushed Morin back to a tree close by.

They stared at each other for a while. Emerald eyes flashed with the light of the killing curse, and Voldemort grinned at the sight. Seemed like the Morin from school was still somewhere inside this body.

"Are you going to kill me?" Morin asked softly.

"I can't, and I won't," the man answered truthfully. "If you do die, then it's all ruined."

"If you're not going to kill me, can you please lift the pressure from Harry?"

"Caught your heart, did he?"

"He seems to be a bit cunning like you, Tom," Morin said. "Trapped me in an instant, just as you did."

"A feat I'm proud over," Voldemort said and massaged the emerald-eyed man's arms. "I'll release him, if you give me something in return."

"It depends on what it is."

"Stay here for a little while?"

Morin looked deep into those fierce red eyes, then leaned closed and breathed against the man's lips with a ghost of a smile playing on his lips:

"Wish granted."

-

Harry's body suddenly stopped convulsing and he coughed. Remus picked him up in his arms and Harry opened his eyes.

"Harry?" the werewolf asked worriedly.

"Voldemort…" he whispered. "He's back."

Remus looked up at Dumbledore and Snape. The headmaster rose up and said:

"I need to find Morin."

"What for Albus?" the potions master asked.

"Knowing him, he probably sought out Voldemort."

-

Morin had no idea what he wanted to do now. He had no idea if he really wanted to kill Voldemort. On one side there was Harry; innocent Harry that deserved so much more. A Harry he had promised the older Harry to allow to grow up without the threat of Voldemort hanging over his head.

On the other side was Voldemort; cruel and a murderer. But in the same time, the only person Morin truly called friend. The only person who had cared and had reached out his hand to drag out Morin from his depression, the only one who held him like a mother should hold one's child.

Morin looked with half-lidded eyes on as Voldemort was humming something and petting Morin's hair. The raven-haired man was lying on his side with the Dark Lord positioned in front of him. Morin was using one of Voldemort's legs as a pillow.

Harry or Tom? Harry or Tom? Morin closed his eyes fully as he had to rethink. Tom was dead; an evil man named Voldemort had taken Tom's place.

As he felt those fingers hover over his lips, he could not help but part them slightly. Why? Why was this happening? Even though the Dark Lord had tortured him, even tried to kill him, Morin could not help but continue love this person. Whether he loved this person as a friend, as a brother, as a substitute parent or as a lover not even Morin himself knew.

-

Harry was brought up to the Infirmary and only a few were allowed in. Soon Ron, Hermione, Draco and the twins were sitting around his bed. Harry was still feeling on his forehead and said:

"It's strange."

"What's strange?" the blonde asked.

"First it hurt like hell," Harry mumbled as he closed his eyes, "and in the next it feels like when Morin made me do one of the calming practises."

"Calming practise?" Hermione said with a frown.

"It's feels like you're sleeping, though you know you're awake," the Gryffindor said. "I can't really explain it, but it feels great. And if you're relaxed enough, you can use this to stretch your magic and 'see' with your magic even though you have your eyes closed."

"Morin taught you that?" George asked.

"Mmm," Harry said. "He let me join him the first time. I thought I would drop down asleep any second."

They talked for a while, before Harry could not keep his eyes open. They slid close and he fell asleep.

-

Morin was sitting on the stone stairs as Dumbledore, Snape and Remus stepped out. The old wizard walked down to the man and kneeled down.

"Morin?"

"I can't," Morin whispered.

"Can't do what?"

"I shouldn't have come back."

"Why not, Morin?" Dumbledore asked as the potions master and the werewolf came closer.

"I saw him, Albus," the raven-haired man said. "I saw Voldemort, but all I could think of when I looked in his eyes was Tom. I can't put any difference between Tom and Voldemort anymore."

Dumbledore looked at the man for a while, and then said:

"First things first, let's get you inside and you'll tell me what happened."

Morin looked down.

"I'm sorry Albus," he said quietly.

"What are you sorry for?"

"I guess I went over the limit you put."

The headmaster's eyes widened and he forced Morin's head up again. Snape and Remus took a step away in surprise and fear.

It came blood out from Morin's eyes. Not much, but blood normally does not come out from the eyes. From the inside, a question was asked. Morin said no, and the force retreated; not time for it yet. He could go on. Dumbledore gently helped the dazed man up and said:

"Severus, go and collect the two potions bottle on my office and then meet me in Morin's chambers. Remus, I heard that Sirius became a free man yesterday."

"Yes," the werewolf said.

"Why don't you contact him? I'm sure Harry wants to see him."

There was something akin to fear in the old man's eyes as he led up Morin into the castle.

-

Voldemort was sitting in a dark chamber, staring into space as parchments were spread around the desk he was sitting by. His followers were hovering around the manor, too afraid to disturb him.

He looked down at the parchments again and scanned his red eyes over them. The potion instructions were not here. He rose up and began to pace. He needed that potion.

-

The rest of the term went quickly, even though a few selected people in Hogwarts knew what had happened. Harry found himself isolating himself with Morin more and more often as people always wanted to congratulate or talk to him. The DADA professor would only glance up when he came and then put a spell on the door, preventing others from coming inside, if the teen wished so.

Sirius had visit a few times, but otherwise was busy with trying getting his house liveable again, since he was going to take Harry. That thing was the only thing that kept Harry looking forward a bit to the summer.

Morin himself seemed to look more and more troubled. Harry caught him staring into space, or at him. There was something unreadable in those ancient emerald eyes, something that the teen did not like.

The end of the term came, and soon Harry was standing on the platform on his way back to London. Remus hugged him tightly and said:

"You will spend the first week with the Dursleys as me and Sirius will fix the last papers for your adoption. Then we'll go and get you as soon as we can."

Harry nodded against the man's chest. He rather not be with the Dursleys at all, but one week was endurable. He was released and got a hug from Snape as well. The potions master promised Harry to visit him, whether Sirius wanted or not. Actually, Snape looked to be happy to annoy Sirius. Harry did not know what to make of that face, so he just smiled nervously.

Finally, he came face to face with Morin. The man looked at him and said:

"Well, I'll guess we'll be seeing each other a bit during the summer."

"We will? But don't you have things to do?"

"Like what? Sit alone in my home and brood?" Morin said with a slight laugh. "I rather spend my time doing something else, thank you very much. And I'm one of the people who will be needed for the special wards on your future home."

Since Harry would not have a blood protection at Grimmauld Place, Sirius' home, they had come up with a series of wads to put up. The place would not just be used as a home for Sirius, Remus and Harry but also for something more. The teen had not gotten any details about it so far.

The Gryffindor hesitated a bit as he stood before Morin and then carefully slid his arms around the man's waist and hugged him gently. Morin was a bit surprised but hugged back nonetheless. Then the man did something Harry did not expect; he put two fingers to his mouth, like kissing them, and then placed them on Harry's scar with the word:

"Protego."

A gentle light surrounded Harry and he felt warm and safe. He looked up at Morin, confused.

"Voldemort has tricks up his sleeve," the man said with a shrug. "No doubt he was going to use your scar and connection to the fullest."

Harry had realized he had some kind of connection to Voldemort, since he was able to feel when the dark wizard had been reborn.

"What will happen if he tries now?" Harry said and touched his scar.

"No idea," Morin said. "The only one who will know is he himself. Now, get up on the train. Don't get into trouble, stay indoors if you can and you'll be out of there before you know it."

"You sound like a mother," the Gryffindor said.

"Oh, I'm nowhere near a mother," the man said with a huff. "Want me to imitate Molly?"

Harry quickly shook his head and let Morin usher up him on the train.

-

The teen found his friends in a compartment not long away from where he had jumped on, and he got inside. The place was full, but before he knew it Fred and George pulled him down with them.

"You're spoiling him," the blonde Slytherin said.

"We're not," the twins answered and pulled Harry closer.

The teen only looked up at the two in confusion. Then he shrugged and said:

"Seems like you two got a Mrs Weasley inside."

"What?!" they screamed as the rest roared with laughter.

-

As the train slowed down, they all got out from the compartment. Harry held back the twins.

"What is it?" George asked.

"You got plans for a joke shop don't you?" the Gryffindor said.

"Yeah, if we ever get the money for it," Fred said. "Why?"

Harry pressed something in George's hand. The redhead looked down and gaped.

"Harry, this is the victory money from the tournament," he said.

"Yep. 1000 Galleons," Harry said. "How about that for a start-capital when you open the shop?"

"Harry, are you serious?" Fred asked with wide eyes.

"Would I joke about 1000 Galleons?"

The twins hugged him tightly and both pressed a kiss each to his temples. They hid the money and followed Harry out.

As he stood and waited for Vernon to pick him up, he got more and more nervous. He just sincerely hoped that the week would go quickly. Mrs Weasley kissed him goodbye, and so did Hermione and Pansy. Blaise made him promise to write, and Draco wanted Harry to call Sirius through the two-way mirror if something happened. The twins hugged him one more time, both promising to see him soon and Ron said:

"If that family of yours hurt you in any way, I'm gonna kill them."

"Ron, I really want to see you this summer, just not in Azkaban okay?" Harry said.

"I'm serious."

"I know. Don't worry; they're usually most scared of me the two first weeks, so I'll be fine," the Gryffindor said. "And they probably got the letter Remus sent about Sirius adopting me."

"Letter how?"

"Muggle-way," Harry said. "With the right amount of stamps."

"Sorry about that one," Ron said with a scratch of his head.

"You guys didn't know."

"Boy!"

Harry turned around and saw Vernon coming. He looked back at Ron and said:

"I'll see you soon. And I will tell Sirius if anything happens, don't worry."

Ron nodded and clasped Harry's shoulder once, hard but reassuring. Draco cut in and sneaked something into Harry's hand.

"The parchment is charmed so that whenever you write on it, the words will come up on my parchment. I want you to write every day until someone picks you up."

Harry nodded and Draco flashed a smile before the two of them hurried to catch up with the others. Harry turned to his uncle who was getting purple, but the boy was unfazed for once. The Gryffindor quickly put the parchment into his pocket before the man noticed and said:

"I'm ready."

Inwardly however, he was not.

Tbc…

* * *

**EDITED 2010-01-20**

Until later,

Ja,

Tiro


	12. Ch 11: Dark Summer

**Reverse of a Dark Future**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Harry Potter, JK Rowling does. She is a wonderful author and I love her Harry Potter books. I do not own any of the persons in this fic **except** for Morin Black. He's mine, I created him!

**Spoilers**: Um, book four and five. Only a bit though in the fourth book, and book five does not happen in this fic except that I mention some things and some creatures you should be aware about. Good if you have read up to book five. Book six or seven does not happen at all.

It's not spoilers, but I will warn you that all of the characters will be a bit different. The most major ones are Snape, Draco, the Weasley twins, Percy and Voldemort. Oh, and Harry will be a bit different, and I warn you it will be a bit mental abuse from the Dursleys directed to our little Harry.

And beware, because I am an evil girl and I have changed Voldemort's past!

Not everything will center on Harry, but most of the time it will together with Morin. Morin is involved in Harry's whole life and they will get close to each other. Some parts will be all Morin, but I will not make this fic so it will only be about Morin, don't worry.

**Pairings**: Slight pairing between Morin and Voldemort.

**Warning**: A bit of abuse in this chapter.

-

**EDITED 2010-01-20**

-

**Chapter Eleven: Dark Summer**

The rode to the Dursleys was quiet and quite tense. Vernon did not look at Harry once, nothing that Harry paid very much attention too. Just as long as the man kept quiet.

As they pulled up by the house and Harry had gotten inside, Vernon spoke up:

"I got a letter."

"Yes, I heard," Harry answered.

"You will only be here for a week," the man continued.

"Yes, and then I'll be gone," the Gryffindor said patiently.

"Go up on your room," Vernon said. "We're having guests tonight. Petunia will give you some food."

Harry did not complain but just walked upstairs with his trunk and Hedwig.

"Uncle Vernon?" he asked as he had come half-way.

"What?" the man said impatiently.

"I would like to let Hedwig out and flying," the raven-haired teen said. "That way she won't make noises."

The man seemed to think about it.

"Just as long as you don't bother us, boy!"

Harry nodded, trying not to flinch at the word 'boy'.

-

Harry knew it had to be too good to be true. Only the day after he had gotten to the Dursleys, Vernon began with his ranting. 'Boy', 'Freak', 'Abnormal creature'; the list went on and on. He seemed to aim to make Harry's last week with them hell.

And for Harry it was hell.

Somehow he managed to survive the verbal abuse for the next five days, and finally came the day before someone would pick him up from this horrible place.

He was currently sitting by his desk writing to Draco. The blonde and he chatted at every free moment, and Harry had contacted Sirius to not make him worried. They had come up with a spell so the mirror would shine up the tiniest bit when they wanted to talk to each other.

He paused in his writing as he waited for the blonde's answer and heard Vernon yell on him. He got up and exited his room. However, he was not ready to meet a drunk Vernon Dursley. The Dursleys had gone shopping this day, and Harry was surprised to find the man alone.

"Did something happen, uncle Vernon?" he asked.

"It's all your fault!" the fat man hissed and stumbled a few steps forward.

"What?"

"Dudley's sick," Vernon slurred. "The doctors said he was food-poisoned. That was you who did it!"

"Me?" the raven-haired teen said. "Why would I want to hurt Dudley?"

The bulgy man grabbed Harry's arm, hard, and screamed:

"Don't lie to me, freak!"

Harry's eyes were wide with fear; his uncle had never done this before. And then he had no time to react as a meaty fist hit his face. Harry felt his glasses shatter and the glass cut into his skin. The teen tried to get loose, but Vernon slammed him into a wall. The next hit, and Harry felt blood dribbling out from his nose. His head was slammed into the wall and the grip on him loosened slightly. He wrenched free from the man and bolted up the stairs. He came inside his room, slammed the door shut and locked it with the simple lock it had on the inside. Soon Vernon began to bang on the door while screaming at him. With his weight, he would soon get the door open, one way or another.

Harry ran to the mirror and activated the spell. Sirius' face showed up and said:

"Harry? What's wr—Harry, what happened to your face?!"

"Please, come and get me!" Harry sobbed. "He'll kill me!"

"He who?!" Sirius shouted. Harry could vaguely hear other voices in the background but they were all blurred in the teen's ears.

"Please, just get me!"

The door finally lost against Vernon's hits and flung open. Harry turned around in fear.

"I've been waiting to do this all this time," Vernon said as he stepped into the room with a malicious smile, alcohol reeking from his breath. "Hit that bloody freakishness out of you."

He grabbed Harry, and the mirror fell down on the floor. Vernon kicked him down and the emerald-eyed teen screamed of pain.

"You're dead!" the bulgy man screamed as he hit on Harry or the floor whenever he missed his target. "I'm going to kill you and when you're gone Dudley will be fine!"

He raised his fist to hit the crying teen again, who had been paralyzed by fear, when suddenly shadows from the room shot out and grabbed onto the man. Vernon was thrown out from the room and the door banged shut once more. Harry gave a cry of relief as Morin stepped out from the shadows. He leapt up and threw himself onto the man, ignoring his wounds and bruises. He just wanted to be close to the man at the moment. Morin held him as tightly back and waved his wand. Soon, Harry's trunk was packed and Hedwig was let out to fly to Grimmauld Place. The owl looked worriedly at her owner and Morin said:

"I will look after him. You will meet him soon."

Hedwig hooted softly at her master and gave Harry's ear a careful pack. Harry looked at her with a weak smile and she went out the window. Morin tilted his head up and stopped the blood flow from the boy's nose.

"Something else than the things I packed for you?" Black asked gently as Harry nuzzled into the man's robes again.

"No," the raven-haired teen said. "I kept everything close instead of hiding them."

Morin took a look on Harry's face and said:

"Severus needs to take a look on this; I'm afraid I don't have any means to take the glass out. Or maybe even Poppy…"

"Can we just go?"

Morin took the trunk and the owl's cage while still holding Harry with one arm.

"Harry, I don't think my hip is a very comfortable spot to press into," the man said.

"You're too skinny. Get some fat on your bones," Harry mumbled.

"Why do talks like this always end up with my health?"

The teen smiled at the older wizard, who rolled his eyes and said:

"We're going now."

"What about un… Vernon?" Harry did not feel like calling that beefy man 'uncle' anymore.

"Albus will take care of it," Morin said. "As you know child abuse is a serious crime in the Muggle world, and it is even more serious in the Wizarding world."

"But he will be charged in the Muggle world, right?"

"Wrong. He abused a magical child; that means Wizarding World. Now hang on."

Harry felt the familiar floating-like feeling and closed his eyes for a moment. When he re-opened them, he soon found himself being hugged by both Sirius and Remus.

"Oh my god, are you alright?" the werewolf asked. "Those cuts…"

"Severus," Morin called out. "Help would be most appreciated."

The man stepped inside the room and Harry was settled down on an armchair. Snape kneeled down in front of the teen, and gave him a potion.

"Numbing potion," he explained. "For the removal of the glass; it will hurt otherwise."

Harry downed the potion and the potions master waited for a few minutes before beginning to take the shards away. The cuts were easily healed and Snape asked:

"Does anything hurt?"

"My arms and chest."

Sirius hovered over his godson, worried. Remus had a comforting hand upon the man's shoulder. Snape helped the teen remove the shirt and carefully examined the bruises that had begun to form. He then applied a salve that cooled down Harry's skin and eased the pain away. He sighed in contentment.

"A new shirt," he heard Snape say to someone.

Soon he pulled on one of George's old shirt; it was dark-red and a bit too big for him but comfortable. Morin stepped into the room again with a tray balanced in one hand. Harry looked at him as he set down the tray on the table. On it was a soup and some bread.

"Lunch," he explained to the teen. "Molly made us some today."

"Mrs Weasley?"

"We'll explain later," Sirius said. "Eat up. Albus is coming this afternoon; then we'll tell you."

Morin was in the room as Harry ate while the three other adults walked out to continue with the warding, knowing Harry would be safe with the older man.

"Morin, have you been here before?" Harry asked carefully.

The man looked up.

"When I was younger," he answered absently. "Today was the first time in a long time, though."

"Why are you here in the first place?"

"The wards," Morin said but got no longer as a house-elf plopped in.

Harry looked surprised at the house-elf. It looked at the raven-haired teen and said:

"Master Black wanted me to take the dishes back to kitchen. Is young sir finished?"

"Um, yes."

The house-elf took the tray and glanced over at the older wizard. Morin looked up from his parchments, whatever he was writing on was beyond everyone, and said:

"Hello Kreacher."

The house-elf bowed, seemingly happy the other Black had noticed him. Then it disappeared. Morin returned to his writing while Harry wondered silently how much Morin knew about the house that now was Harry's home.

-

"So this is the headquarters to the Order of the Phoenix?" Harry said.

"Yes," Dumbledore said as he sucked on a lemon drop. "That means no one except those who has the password can enter."

"Is it that's why Morin is here? I mean, he's here for the Order?"

"Not really. He is not a part of the Order. We just want to keep him safe for a little while," the headmaster said.

"Safe for what?" Harry asked.

"Four days ago, Morin's home was attacked by Voldemort," the old wizard said. "Nothing serious, but he has to stay here until he gets up new wards."

"He was attacked?!"

"As I said, nothing serious," Dumbledore repeated reassuringly. "He said himself it was more of a shock than fright. He didn't think Voldemort would be able to pass his barriers."

"Where does Morin live anyway?"

"In bloody Sahara desert," Snape muttered.

"Sa-Sahara?!" Harry gaped.

"Yes, Sahara," Morin answered as he stepped into the room. "It's quite isolated, and I like it that way."

Snape snorted, and the older man just smiled.

"Well I do have a house here in England but I don't live there," the man continued as he accepted a lemon drop from the headmaster. "You eat far too many sweets, Albus."

"Why don't you live there?" Harry asked in confusion.

"I don't like the place," Morin said and tested the sweet. "Albus, how can you stand this much sugar?!"

"That is why they are called sweets, my dear Morin."

Morin eyed the sweet suspiciously.

"You don't need to eat it," Dumbledore continued and chuckled as Morin immediately put it away. "Have you met Kreacher?"

"Yes, he seems quite happy about seeing me again," Morin said absently.

"He's certainly not happy about seeing me," Sirius snorted.

"I heard there was a portrait of Mrs Black," Morin continued.

"Yes, my dear old mother," the younger Black said. "Whenever you pick away that curtain, she begins to scream. Bloody mental, that portrait."

"Where is she?" the emerald-eyed man asked.

"Down the hall, near the front door. Why?"

Morin got up and walked out. Curios, the others followed, led by Harry.

"This one?" the older Black asked and pointed at a tightly drawn curtain.

"Yes," Sirius replied. "I warn you; she has a loud voice."

"I already know that."

Morin pulled the curtains away, and Mrs Black began her ranting, erm screaming, about how shameful her son was, bringing in strangers and Half-bloods and traitors into the Noble House of Black. Morin winced and listened on for a moment. Then he cleared his throat and shouted:

"Shut up Walburga!"

The woman stopped at once. Her eyes sought out the person who had screamed. Then they heard a quiet whisper:

"Morin?"

"Yes, hello Walburga," the man said as he rubbed his temples. "Thank you very much for making me deaf… again."

"But I heard you had died!"

"Haven't your parents told you don't believe in every rumour you hear?" Morin said. "Personally, I heard a rumour I had gone to Himalaya to cleanse my soul. Funny thing; I thought I lived in Sahara. People have far too much time to imagine things."

"Is it really you?" the portrait asked. "You… you haven't aged a day."

"Call it a bloody miracle," Morin muttered.

"Miracle?" she repeated. "Oh I see… THAT miracle."

"Oh, hush you," the older Black said, though not looking very upset. He leaned a bit closer, and continued, "May I be so impolite and ask why you are aiming to make people deaf?"

"My son, Sirius! He has betrayed the way of the Noble Black!" she shrieked. "And now he owns the house! Why?! Why didn't Orion listen to me?! Sirius doesn't deserve the house!"

Sirius looked away with his face pale of fury. Morin took a deep breath and held up a hand. To their surprise, the woman stopped immediately.

"Betrayed you in what way?" the man asked calmly. "By not supporting Voldemort? By actually having a heart?"

"I told Orion to give it to Narcissa, or Bellatrix," Walburga hissed. "You would understand…"

"No," he interrupted. "I don't understand, Walburga. You still support the Dark Lord?"

"He' the only one who understands the situation of the pure-bloods---!"

"Did you know that the first people he killed were pure-bloods?" Morin asked gently and she grew silent as the others gasped at the information. "Did you know he slaughtered only pure-bloods in the beginning? Voldemort is not the noble person you think Walburga. Voldemort is a monster."

"But why give the house to Sirius?" she whispered. "Maybe we could have given it to you…"

"No," Morin said softly. "Even if you had, I would've refused."

"Why?"

"Because Sirius is your son and he's a far better man than me," Morin said. "If you don't start seeing your son in the way everyone else does, I will destroy every bloody painting that exist on you so you will truly be forgotten."

Walburga stared at him.

"You are not the Morin I know," she said finally. There was sadness in her voice, perhaps a bit of bewilderment.

"And pray to whatever god you believe in that Morin won't come back," the older Black said and stepped away.

He walked past them all and disappeared into a room. Sirius carefully shut the curtains around his mother's portrait, and saw she was crying. He turned to the others and said:

"What the hell did just happen?"

-

Morin did not show up for three days. Where he was in the house, no one knew. Harry thought he saw the man go through a hall once, but it easily could have been his eyes playing a trick on him.

Snape had brought Draco with him the next day, so Harry was happy about that. He had yet a chance to fire-call the Weasleys but in the meantime he was spending much-needed time with his blonde friend. Who, by the way, wanted to try out every curse he knew on the beefy man called Vernon Dursley.

On breakfast on the third day since Harry arrived, said teen sat by the table in the kitchen eating breakfast. The house-elf, Kreacher, had been rather down all since Morin disappeared. Right now it was standing on a stool and cooking. Harry was eating the scrambled eggs and sausages Kreacher had made him. While the two did not like each other that much, they had fallen into a comfortable silence.

Suddenly Kreacher perked its head up and nearly fell of the stool.

"Master Morin!"

The emerald-eyed teen snapped his head up and whirled around. Morin was supporting himself on the door-frame, looking rather pale.

"Is Severus around?" he asked both of them.

"Yes," Harry said. "He should be in the potions lab by now."

"Would you mind fetch him?" Now Morin could not support himself and slid down onto the floor.

"Kreacher will get him for master Morin!" the house-elf said and was gone in the next moment.

Harry ran over to the older Black, not really caring why Kreacher called the man 'master' and took out a handkerchief. He wiped away the sweat that had gathered in Morin's face and said:

"What's wrong?"

"I have a sort of connection with Voldemort," Morin panted. "Blood oath."

"Blood oath?"

"Long time ago, when we were children," the man said, "we became sworn blood brothers. But if he is upset, angry, sad or happy, I can feel it too."

"And…?"

"He's rather pissed off now."

Harry's hand flung up to his scar, but then he remembered the protection spell.

"Yes," Morin said, "you can't feel it because of the charm. You don't need that pain."

"But what about you?!"

"Normally he tries to keep it away from me," the raven-haired man said as his eyes began to glaze over in pain. "Right now, he's too angry… but I can't figure out what can make him so pissed off for several hours."

"Hours!"

Morin smiled weakly and said:

"Kinda passed out a while ago… just woke up and felt like crap." Here his head began to drop and his body slid down even further, but Harry quickly supported his professor.

"Morin!"

The potions master came running and kneeled down next to the older man. Without waiting, he slipped one arm underneath Morin's knees and the other around his shoulders and picked up the older man. Harry followed the man up the stairs and into the living room. Sirius and Remus jumped up from their chairs but Snape's glare stopped them. He placed Morin onto a sofa and said:

"Alright, take me through what happened."

"Just Voldemort being his normal self," Morin mumbled. "Ouch, headache…"

"Any other pain than the headache?" Snape asked as he summoned a bottle of headache potion.

"Except it feels like my veins are on fire and someone is trying to tie a knot on my stomach? No, not really" the older man said.

"Great," Snape muttered. "Try be serious once in a while when it comes to pain, alright? Swallow this."

Harry watched as the potions professor made Morin drink several potions. Soon Morin's entire body seemed to relax and he sank back onto the sofa with a content sigh.

"That feels so much better", the man said and closed his emerald eyes.

"Make sure he doesn't move," Snape warned.

"Not like I'm able to," Morin muttered and got a glare from Snape for that.

-

One week after Harry had arrived the Weasleys came along with other Order members, as they were going to hold their first meeting.

Harry and Draco were in the drawing room, reading a book when the boor banged open. Two identical redheads grinned like madmen as they came in. They picked up Harry, who yelped and then Ron came in. Lastly was Ginny and Hermione. Draco helped the raven-haired teen down, after the twins had swung him around for a while, and said:

"What, did the meeting begin?"

"Yep, and we were thrown out," Fred said.

"Along with me," Morin said sourly who entered and shut the door. His eyebrow was twitching. The teens, except for Ginny since she did not know him so well, could not help but giggle. "Shut up."

He sat down in an armchair and opened a book.

"And I was put here to watch," he said. "That means no sneaking out and trying to listen."

"No fair!" they all shouted.

-

Sirius had to pry Molly away from Harry, so the poor teen could breathe. The Order members were introduced to them all, and the names blurred into one big mass. Harry looked around in the over-filled kitchen. There was no sign of Morin anywhere, and Snape was successfully sneaking out. Harry leaned towards Dumbledore and said:

"Why isn't Morin here?"

"He went to get up the wards," the headmaster answered.

"All by himself? But professor, it's almost dark outside!"

"Harry," the old wizard said. "Morin is a loner. A terrible loner. He normally hates company, and usually does things like setting up wards whenever he's supposed to meet other people. He is also very secretive about his wards, and prefers doing them when you least expect it. He is also a very good Auror, and can handle himself."

Harry frowned.

"Harry," Dumbledore said. "Don't worry about Morin; he'll be back later."

The raven-haired boy still kept his senses stretched out the best he could in hope he would be able to feel the older man's magical signal.

-

Morin fortunately came back, and not too late in the evening. Molly insisted on a late dinner for him. Harry was led away to talk with some Order members that was interested in his previous encounters with Voldemort, while Draco and Snape stayed with the older Black.

"How did it go?" Snape asked as he was pouring over the book Harry had given him at Christmas.

"Done," Morin said. "Now it's as safe as this place."

"Maybe you can take us there!" the blonde said with eager eyes.

"Not much to see," Morin said and took a sip of water.

"Doesn't matter," Draco continued. "Please?"

"If we ask and get permission from Albus," Morin said. "But who are 'us'?"

"Dunno… me, Har, the twins, Ron, Hermione… who else?"

"Oh what a joy," Snape snorted, "getting your home filled with loud brats."

"Sev!" the blonde teen snapped to his adoptive father.

Morin smiled sadly.

"Well," he said, "for me it's alright. But you have to let me clean it up for a bit."

"Can you use magic undetected there?" Draco asked.

"Yes."

"Then we can help you clean!"

"You're trying anything to get into my home, don't you?"

"Of course!"

Morin laughed softly at the grinning teen.

-

True to his words, Morin took them all, excluding Ginny, there four days later. Hermione came in as last and stood up. She looked around and said:

"Professor, do you ever clean?"

"Not that much," Morin said. "Besides, haven't been here for almost a year."

The bushy-haired girl began immediately to make cleaning spells and soon the others began as well. Morin walked upstairs and they heard him mutter something. When they came up five minutes later, they stared.

They were in a round room, with around ten doors leading out. Right now Morin had opened all ten. Said man coughed and spelled the dust away from a room he was currently in. He blinked away the dust from his eyes and said:

"I didn't know I had this room. Or at least, I can't remember seeing it before."

They all gaped at him. He shook his head and said in amusement:

"Well, what do you know…? Oh."

He picked up a photo-album from one of the dusty desks. While the others looked into the other rooms, Harry watched as one slender hand stroke the top of the album in a fond gesture. Morin's lips twitched into a sad smile and he opened the album. He then looked up; like he remembered he was not alone in the house and locked eyes with Harry. The teen blinked.

Morin brought the album with him as he left the room. He closed the door and said:

"And now where did everyone go?"

"Don't know," Harry said. "Guess they're more explorer than me."

"Albus has shared countless tales of your curiosity," the older man said with a smile and the emerald-eyed teen blushed. A chuckle from inside, Morin smiled wider at the feeling of sheepishness trickling out from older Harry.

"My curiosity keeps me here."

"With the album?"

"Yes…"

Morin handed it to the teen.

"Pictures from a past," he whispered to the confused Harry, "does not hurt to be looked upon. Just do remember it's my past."

Morin left the baffled teen in search for the others. Soon Harry found himself and sat down in a chair. He looked on the front and carefully opened it.

The first picture was off Morin he believed, but at the age of… eleven? Or twelve? The boy on the picture was dressed in the Hogwarts school robes, and looked a bit uncomfortable. Harry let his eyes roam over to the other picture. There was only one picture each on every side, so there could not be many. The next looked a bit better. Maybe thirteen, standing with two others. He looked at the boy standing behind Morin and hitched his breath. _Voldemort_. The thirteen year old Voldemort looked happy, and Harry's mind freaked out at that _real_ smile the Dark Lord wore on the picture. Then he shifted his attention to the other one, a girl. She had light-brown hair put up in two long braids, the deepest blue eyes Harry had ever seen and dressed in the Slytherin robes, as the other two. Harry was slightly surprised that this was a Muggle picture. The first one had been magical.

He looked at the pictures, that all displayed Morin standing with either Voldemort or that girl.

Then there was an abrupt end when Morin was 17, and the next picture was one on Morin and Dumbledore when the man looked like he did today. But Dumbledore looked much younger. Harry frowned. He had not paid much attention to it before, but how come while Morin was over sixty years old he had not aged from looking like twenty-five? Harry snapped the album shut when he heard the others coming. That picture had also been the last in the album, but the year had stated it was taken 1953. That was over forty years ago. What had happened to make Morin stop with the album?

-

Harry's mind was soon taken away from the mystery of Morin as Sirius and Remus made the best they could to make up for the last fourteen years. Severus visited every day, except when he had a meeting with Voldemort.

The emerald-eyed teen had been a bit surprised when they had told him that Severus was a spy for the Light side. He had been a Death Eater and Voldemort's potions master. So the position was ideal for a spy.

Morin seemed to work day and night. He pulled some strings in the Ministry, to strengthen their wards. He still had colleagues on his side there, both Aurors and Unspeakables. They knew Morin would never fool with them with that kind of joke and discreetly worked on securing the Ministry.

The Weasleys came and visited once every few days, but the blonde Slytherin had practically moved in for the summer. Hermione fire-called every day and came to visit whenever she could.

On one of these days, when they were all gathered, they decided to try getting into the only room that was locked. It was a room away from the others, and nothing they did could make it open.

The twins tried different spells they had learned on the lock. They were 17 years old and were therefore allowed to use magic. When that did not work, they all became frustrated.

"We've tried everything!" Ron said and threw his hands up the air.

Hermione flipped through a book, hoping to get something. Draco was reading another one. Harry leaned forward and looked on the door. Suddenly he saw a miniature picture of a snake on the handle. He looked closer and frowned. Snakes…

He tilted his head a bit and slowly spoke:

"_Open."_

The hiss made them all jump.

"Harry, what are you do---!"

The door swung open. Harry stared.

"Well," he said after a while. "It was a Parseltongue password, that's all."

They entered the room cautiously. It was painted in grey, had a four-poster bed, a desk and a wardrobe. Otherwise, it looked cold and impersonal. Empty.

"Wonder who lived here?" Draco said.

"Open the bloody window before we choke," Ron suggested.

They did, and the twins made some spells to at least get some of the dust away. Harry then noticed a picture on the night stand. He picked it up and widened his eyes.

"Guys?" he said.

"What?" they all answered.

"I think we are in Morin's room when he lived here."

Silence.

"How do you know?" Hermione said.

"There is a picture of him," the raven-haired teen answered. "On him and Mrs Black I think."

They looked around the ghostly room for a while. Suddenly someone pushed Harry and he dropped the frame.

"Leave!" Kreacher shrieked. "Leave master Morin's room! Leave, leave, leave! You're not allowed in! No one but master Morin!"

"Stop it Kreacher!" Hermione screamed as the small house-elf raised its arm to attack.

"Kreacher!"

The house-elf whirled around and looked at the older Black. Morin stepped into the room and said:

"I never said no one could enter. There is nothing special in this room. Now go."

The elf bowed deeply and disappeared. Morin leaned onto the door frame and said:

"Or is it something special in this room?"

"It's kinda… dusty," Draco said.

"Of course; it hasn't been opened since I left it when I was 17," Morin said.

"It's kinda cold looking," Harry continued.

"I brought all my belongings with me when I moved," the man said and looked around. "I wasn't very fond of this room, and was actually counting the days when I would get away."

"You didn't like living here?" the blonde asked.

"Living here was alright, but living in this room… I just didn't like it."

Morin looked at them with a small smile.

"How about we get out of this room and get our asses down for lunch as I hear Sirius so nicely yell?"

-

Harry woke up on his birthday and sat up. He rubbed his eyes before he put on his glasses and stretched. He looked over at the blonde's bed, but it was empty. Frowning, Harry turned to look at the clock. His eyes widened. Ten in the morning?! He usually only slept to eight.

He struggled to get on a jumper when he heard a chuckle from the door. He looked up and Morin tilted his head.

"Having some problem?"

"Actually, yes."

The man stepped in and tugged a bit on the jumper. Harry could then successfully pull it on. The raven-haired teen yawned a bit and said:

"Where's Dray?"

"Downstairs," Morin answered.

"Doing what?"

"Curious, aren't we?"

"Morin," Harry whined.

"You'll see," the man said and gently steered Harry out from the room. "But before it… here."

The emerald-eyed teen accepted the small box Morin gave him and said man scratched his head a bit with a sheepish smile.

"I better go down," the man said but Harry stopped him before he could move away.

"Stay," the teen said. "It's a birthday-gift?"

"Um… yes."

"Don't be so shocked why I stopped you," Harry said. "It's just it's the first time I received a gift from someone else than the Dursleys when the persons are present. My friends always sent me my gifts."

Morin looked nervously on as Harry opened the gift. He looked inside and gaped. Inside was a small ball, almost like Neville's Remember All but there was no fog inside. Instead Harry saw people. Lots of them. They all waved at him, chatting with each other or just standing there.

"This is…" he whispered.

"All of your friends and recent relatives except for the Dursleys," Morin said. "Dead and alive. It took me some time to check up, but there they are."

Harry brought the ball closer and saw his mum and dad. They waved at him happily. The raven-haired teen held the ball close as he hugged Morin fiercely. The older wizard threaded his hand through the mass of unruly black locks and said:

"I take it you like it."

"Yes," Harry whispered. "Thank you so much."

The teen smiled widely when Morin's arm came to rest upon his shoulders in a loose hug.

"My pleasure," the man whispered back.

-

Harry was grinning widely, his violent depart from the Dursleys forgotten as he watched his friends eat and chat. Next to his plate was letters from Viktor and Fleur. They had promised to write and demanded Harry to write back. His heart had swelled with happiness when thick letters from them had come, congratulating him on his birthday.

Currently the kitchen in Grimmauld Place was full with people. The whole Weasley family, excluding Percy, Hermione, Draco, Blaise, Remus, Sirius, Snape, Morin and even Dumbledore had gathered. Pansy had not been able to come so she had sent him a card instead together with a picture on the three Slytherins together with Harry. The four teens was wrestling with each other on the picture, and Harry had put it in the photo album Draco had given him at Christmas the previous year.

Blaise had gotten him a huge amount of sweets, which made Sirius sigh since Harry became a bit too hyper for the man's taste when he ate sweets. It had only made the Slytherin teen smile more than he already had done.

Draco had given him a book about protection spells and Sugar Quills. Yet again, a huge sigh from the younger Black. The blonde had snickered.

Sirius had gotten him a whole new wardrobe of clothes, both Muggle and magical. Remus had given him some various books from the magical world; he said most of them were fairy-tales for children but that Harry might enjoy them anyway. Snape had given him an own Wizard chess and promised to help him try to defeat Morin. Morin had simply smiled a bit too predatory to them both. Dumbledore gave him another photo-album that unfortunately had a sort of seal on it. The headmaster said it had belonged to Lily, so Harry would figure out how to open it sooner or later.

Molly had given him his normal share of pies and homemade cookies, and the twins had bought a journal for him. Ron had combined his present with Hermione and together the two Gryffindors had given Harry a book about potions used in battle. He looked up at them and said:

"It must've cost a lot…"

"Doesn't matter," Ron said. "We wanted to give it to you, so we did."

Morin's heart skipped a beat. Her words again, coming out from the mouth of a mere child. What was she doing? It had been a long time since he had felt her presence inside of Ron, but now it was bubbling a bit. He tried his best looking normal and concentrated on the emerald-eyed teen. He could feel older Harry watching as well, content within the depths, briefly sharing Morin's eye-sight. He let a small smile grace his lips for that.

-

Harry was sitting in the living room, surrounded by his 'family'. Currently he was showing Remus and Sirius the ball Morin had given him, and the two men was sitting on either side of the teen. Sirius knew some of the Potter family and pointed out James' parents to the emerald-eyed teen. Remus had seen pictures of Lily's parents and pointed them out. Harry looked at the parents to Petunia Dursley, the woman who had hated him so much. They looked so nice too. What had happen to her to make her hate him so much?

Sirius noted his depressing thoughts and gently put an arm around him.

"Come on, cheer up," he whispered.

Harry leaned onto his shoulder and smiled a bit as the twins began with their antics. He fingered gently on the album the headmaster had given him, wondering how to open it. It had been his mother's so what was inside it?

-

Harry did not get a chance to try opening the book. The whole August was concentrated onto finish his homework he had gotten over the summer. Having Snape and Morin close by helped a lot and Harry could not help but grin widely when he learned that Morin was to continue as a DADA professor. The other teens had been quite exited over that as well. Finally a teacher staying two years. Whatever curse lay over the position Morin seemed to step over it without a care. Not like that surprised anyone.

Not everything had been good that summer though. Attacks on Muggles had increased but still the Ministry refused to believe Voldemort was back. Dumbledore had luckily not been the one to mention that, so he still was accepted in the Ministry. Morin fell ill thanks to the Dark Lord twice more times. Every time Harry saw the man, he always looked weak and sick. The natural paleness Morin's skin had disappeared and been replaced by a sickly white one. Despite all of that, Morin still had his charming smile and mysterious look in his eyes.

Sirius and Remus had taken Draco and Harry to Diagon Alley before the school would start for their school material. The four of them had had a glamour charm on them, and acted like a family. The blonde Slytherin and the raven-haired Gryffindor had teased Remus a bit after that, since he had to play the mother role. Sirius had laughed.

Soon it was time for Harry to leave for Hogwarts again. He looked back on this summer and could not help but feel despite Voldemort was back, the attacks from the Death Eaters, the Ministry's denial of the Dark Lord's return that this summer had been the best one in his entire life.

Tbc…

* * *

**EDITED 2010-01-20**

Until later,

Ja,

Tiro


	13. Ch 12: Breaking curses

**Reverse of a Dark Future**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Harry Potter, JK Rowling does. She is a wonderful author and I love her Harry Potter books. I do not own any of the persons in this fic **except** for Morin Black. He's mine, I created him!

**Spoilers**: Um, book four and five. Only a bit though in the fourth book, and book five does not happen in this fic except that I mention some things and some creatures you should be aware about. Good if you have read up to book five. Book six or seven does not happen at all.

It's not spoilers, but I will warn you that all of the characters will be a bit different. The most major ones are Snape, Draco, the Weasley twins, Percy and Voldemort. Oh, and Harry will be a bit different, and I warn you it will be a bit mental abuse from the Dursleys directed to our little Harry.

And beware, because I am an evil girl and I have changed Voldemort's past!

Not everything will center on Harry, but most of the time it will together with Morin. Morin is involved in Harry's whole life and they will get close to each other. Some parts will be all Morin, but I will not make this fic so it will only be about Morin, don't worry.

**Pairings**: Slight pairing between Morin and Voldemort.

-

**EDITED 2010-01-20**

-

**Chapter Twelve: Breaking curses **

Harry woke up at six the day he and Draco would leave for Hogwarts. He lay in bed for a while, listening to the blonde's calm breathing. He heard commotion going on down most likely in the kitchen and slowly sat up. He rubbed his eyes before taking on his glasses. The teen stepped out from the bed without disturbing the blonde and went out.

He saw Morin with the headmaster by the end of the stairs. Morin was holding a bottle with some sort of potion in it and made a disgusted face at it. Harry stopped for a little while. He came just in time to hear Dumbledore say:

"Now, now Morin, don't make that face."

"I hate this potion," the younger wizard said back.

"You rather want to be without it?"

The emerald-eyed man sighed and downed it down. Then he banished the bottle and said:

"You and Poppy better team up with Severus as my tormentors. You make a great combination."

"Just looking after you doesn't mean we're tormenting you," the old headmaster said with a chuckle. "Are you coming back to Hogwarts with me or will you ride the train with Severus?"

"The train," Morin said.

"You've never liked riding with that train," Dumbledore mused.

"Draco and Harry are targets for _them,_" the man said to the headmaster. "They both need a stronger protection this year."

"Inside of Hogwarts I will do everything in my power to keep them safe, you know that," the old wizard said. "I do believe the Weasley children are in the risk zone as well."

"Not the youngest one; she's not that familiar with Harry," Morin said.

They were both unaware the said teen was listening.

"And our two young Slytherins that stayed with Draco?"

"Their families are neutrals in the war, so they're safe at home," the raven-haired man said and looked down at the floor. "And they already know the risks."

"That's good," the headmaster said. "I've already made clear to all of the teachers that dark activities will not be allowed. Remus will help you with that."

"So he's going to continue?"

"Yes, not even the Ministry could make me change my mind," Albus said. "Just as with a certain Alexander Riddler."

"That man is long gone, Albus," Morin said.

"But he is still alive in our hearts."

The younger of the two peered up at the headmaster and said quietly:

"I think Severus needs some help in the kitchen unless he wants to wake up everyone."

"I shall take my leave as well, despite you changing the subject. I see you later then."

The headmaster went to the hearth and was soon gone. Morin stood still for a moment and Harry did not dare moving. Suddenly the man's head snapped up and he saw the teen.

"Harry?" he said in disbelief. "It's six in the morning; what on earth are you doing up?"

"Couldn't sleep," Harry answered.

"Oh… Would you mind coming with me and stop Severus from making the kitchen explode then?"

"As long as I can use you as my shield."

"Ungrateful brat," Morin muttered.

"Old man."

"I'm not that old young man!"

"Young man? Talk about old man-style," Harry chuckled.

"Oh, hush you!"

-

Sirius came into the kitchen yawning around seven-thirty and stopped at the sight.

Snape, _Snape_ Merlin forbid, and Harry was playing chess while Morin was reading a book. Kreacher was nowhere in sight, though breakfast was on the table. Sirius stared at the image for a while. Harry broke out in a grin and made a move. He looked up at Snape and said:

"Check!"

"Check?!" Snape cried out. "It's the bloody fifth time! What are you teaching him Morin?!"

"Apparently I'm teaching him how to win," Morin said as he looked at the chessboard. "Or it's just that you suck at playing."

"What?!"

The younger Black could only gape at the scene. The potions master, the sneering and greasy man, looked absolutely ridiculous. Harry giggled and Snape turned to him.

"Not a sound child," he snapped with no malice.

"Sorry Severus," Harry said. "But Dray was right that you two act like kids sometimes."

The man did something Sirius never, ever thought he would do; the potions master stuck out his tongue in a childlike manner, which of course made Harry burst into laughter. Morin looked up from his book once more to look what caused the laugh, but soon was lost in the book again.

-

A quarter to eleven they were on the station, the two boys ready to leave. Snape and Morin had already gotten onto the train, so Sirius and Remus was alone with them.

"I want you guys to be careful this year," the younger Black warned. "I don't want to hear about any adventures."

"We'll try," Harry said.

"Try?" Remus said. "Remember, I will be at school; I'll make sure of it. Not to mention Morin and Severus."

"Adventures have the bad habit of finding me," the emerald-eyed teen whined.

"Just get up on the train," Sirius said. "Make sure they get to the castle in one piece, Moony."

"Will do."

The two teens jumped on, eager to find their friends. During the summer, both Hermione and Ron had been made Prefects. Blaise and Pansy had gotten the honour in Slytherin. Both Harry and Draco knew they would most likely be busy on the trip to Hogwarts but they still had some friends left.

And soon enough, they were tackled by two identical redheads. They were dragged to the twin's compartment and roughly dumped onto the seats.

"Watch it!" Harry said.

"Sorry, Harry," George said with a grin. "But we couldn't resist."

The blonde huffed but still had a grin on his face.

"Where are your trunks?" Fred asked.

"Sirius and Severus shrunk them for us," Harry said. "It would be easier that way."

"Smart," Fred said. "Why didn't we think of that, Forge?"

"I guess we aren't that bright as mum says, Gred," the other one answered while lifting his hands in a helpless shrug.

The two younger ones laughed at them.

"Is your mum still upset about Percy?" the raven-haired teen asked.

"I think so," George said and sat down. "She doesn't say anything, but she's kinda down all the time."

Percy had argued with his parents in the beginning of the summer, and since then he had not been home. Arthur had tried to say that Fudge was not the best minister anymore and since then Percy had not been around. It was still hurting the parents a bit, while their children thought that Percy was an idiot.

The twins sat down as well, and they were soon lost in talking, laughing and making jokes. At lunch the trolley came and they went outside. Harry bought not so many sweets, knowing Sirius, Remus, Morin AND Snape would not be that happy with him. Besides, Kreacher had made a few sandwiches for him.

They got back into their compartment and the twins began telling the two younger teens about their idea on a joke-shop.

-

They travelled up the track to the castle in the carriages. Harry had sworn for a moment he saw something looking like a starved horse in front of the carriage, but the next moment there was nothing.

As they arrived into the Great Hall, Harry instantly felt there was something different. His eyes roamed up onto the Head Table and saw a new face. A woman with a toad-like face and dressed in pink robes sat there. She had an unpleasant smile on her face and looked completely ridiculous. Morin was seated three seats away from her, talking to Remus about something. The raven-haired teen noted the man had his back almost fully turned away from the new woman.

He shook his head slightly and sat down next to Ron and Hermione. The two of them greeted him for the first time, since they had not gotten a chance to meet him all until now.

"Busy already?" he said with a small smile.

"Being a Prefect is not easy," Ron whined. "I don't know why I am one. Why can't you be the one?"

"I'm not really the perfect one…"

"Me neither!"

"Shh, Dumbledore is about to begin," Hermione said.

The old wizard rose up and the hall went quiet. He smiled at them all and began:

"Welcome to another year of Hogwarts! I truly hope all of your families have walked safe from the attacks that occurred during the summer. This year we will have a worker from the Ministry, who will see if this school truly is safe. A welcome applause for Dolores Umbridge!"

The students all clapped politely as the toad-like woman rose and bowed a bit. She then sat down without another word. Harry had during the clapping noting that Morin's clapping looked forced, so with his smile.

"And I have the pleasure to announce that Morin Black and Remus Lupin will continue as your DADA teachers," the headmaster continued and the whole hall broke out in applauses and shouts. Morin smiled a bit while Remus looked embarrassed. Finally Dumbledore said what most of them were waiting for:

"Everyone, enjoy the feast!"

Food appeared and the talking began once more. Harry looked up on the DADA teacher again, and looked just in time to see Umbridge sending a glare at Morin. Said man ignored her as he sipped water from his goblet. Two sets of identical emerald eyes met and Morin smiled the tiniest bit at the teen. Now in the light of the hall, Harry also noted that the man's skin was a bit too pale. But he decided to put away these thoughts just for a little while as he began chatting about how the summer had been with his friends.

-

Morin almost fled from the hall when they were allowed to. He walked to his private chambers, came inside and locked the door. He leaned against the heavy door and breathed a sigh of relief. That woman certainly did not like him. The Harry inside of him despised her, so it did not make anything easier. He walked over to his trunk and opened it. On top lay the photo album Voldemort had given him. The man picked it up and went to his bed. He fell down on it and looked at the album. He gently opened the lid and despite himself he smiled at the first picture.

The Slytherin Trio; that was they had been called when they went in school. He, Tom and Anemone. Morin let one finger travel along their young faces. It had been such a long time since then. A painful past. A past where the three had thought they would be together forever. Yeah right. One by one, they were destined to die.

First Anemone. Then there was Morin himself. He may have survived the illness, but his heart no longer held the emotions it used to.

The man sighed and turned over to his side. The photo album fell down on the bed, and Morin glared at it. What was Tom planning to do? He had not just given Morin that album for nothing. The man rubbed his emerald eyes and said softly into the empty room:

"I hate you, Tom."

But on the inside, he knew he did not.

-

Harry woke up feeling refreshed and sat up. The clock was barely seven, but the teen was used to wake up early. He got up from the bed and went to the shower room.

When he came back outside, Ron had woken up and was yawning as he pulled out some robes.

"You look far too happy," the redhead whined.

"Well, I'm feeling happy."

"How can someone feel happy we're back in school again?" Ron muttered as he flopped back onto his bed.

"Well, I thought I would go down to Morin before breakfast," Harry said and slung his bag on his shoulder. "See you later?"

"Sure thing."

Harry left the Gryffindor Tower and travelled down to Morin's chambers. He knocked a few times, and almost immediately the door opened. Morin was sitting in the sofa with a cup of something. He looked up from his book and said:

"Thought it would be you."

Harry just smiled and sat down.

"What's that?" he said and pointed at the cup.

"It's a cup?"

"No, the liquid in it." Harry rolled his eyes while Morin smiled apologetically.

"Oh… it's a potion."

"What kind of potion?" Harry asked.

"Take a sniff, and see if you can figure it out," Morin said and held out the cup.

Harry complied, and then leaned back with a thoughtful expression. Then his eyes brightened and he said:

"It's a Pepper-Up potion!"

"Good," Morin said. "It is."

"Why do you take one?"

"Slept bad," the man answered. "Just thinking one more year with beasts like you…"

"Oh, the joy," the teen said with an eye-roll and Morin chuckled.

"You've spent too much time with Severus," the man said gently.

"No, I haven't," Harry said.

"Yeah, right," Morin drawled and took a sip of his potion. "While this does make me more awake, it still tastes horrible."

"You're a potions master, right?" Harry said and waited for the man's nod. "Make potions taste good."

"I wish," the raven-haired man said and downed the rest of the potion. "But that destroys the potion itself."

"Bugger. I was hoping you wouldn't say that."

"Maybe if you try not being part of any more adventures as they usually make you end up in the Infirmary with Poppy and potions," the man said.

"I'm not part of any adventures; the bloody 'adventures' finds me, no matter how hard I try to run from them!"

Morin chuckled at Harry's outburst.

-

The two of them walked down to breakfast a while later, but met on Umbridge. The toad-like woman looked at them and said:

"I didn't know that students and teachers were so informal with each other."

"We know each other outside the school too, Miss Umbridge," the raven-haired man replied.

"You know Mr Potter outside the school, Black?" she said, the word 'Black' coming out of her mouth as a curse. "I doubt it."

"Go ahead to breakfast, Harry," Morin said. "I'm sure your friends are waiting."

"Okay," he said, a little hesitating but did not question it. "See you later then, sir. Bye Miss Umbridge."

With that, he walked past the woman and continued to the Great Hall alone. The two adults stood silent for a while. Then the woman spoke up yet again:

"I don't know what you're doing, but you will not have your plans fulfilled."

"I have no plans," the emerald-eyed man said. "Unless you are going to destroy my schedule for my students; that's the closest to a plan I have. And that would be a real shame---"

"Don't try to trick me," Umbridge snarled, cutting of Morin's talk. The man looked less than impressed. "You may be able to trick everyone else, but no me!"

"Is that your words or Fudge's?" Morin asked coldly, and the woman froze. The temperature had suddenly dropped and the man closed his eyes. Unconsciously, Umbridge relaxed once those ancient eyes were not on her anymore. With a sigh the man continued, "I'm sick of hearing that. What plans should I have?"

"Give Potter to You-Know-Who of course," the toad-like woman spoke.

"My, you seem confident in that. Are you sure that's MY plans?"

Umbridge crossed the distance and poked him hard in the chest. Morin had the sudden urge to laugh at her expression, but caught himself at the last moment.

"You are not in the position with that kind of talking!" she almost screamed while doing another poke.

Oh, it was getting really hard to keep that laughter inside. He must be going insane. He blinked a few times to orientate himself and to remember he was talking to a Ministry worker. He looked at her, and said:

"Or what else? You'll make so I get fired?"

"Exactly! And then you can't carry out with your pl--!"

"Fine," Morin said and she stopped with her rambling, confused. "Fire me if you want to. But just as you know, I won't stop with my talking. I talk as I like. Just try it. If you succeed firing me, then I'll leave but then it's your fault if the students above the fourth year are without a DADA teacher."

He walked past her and Umbridge stood rooted to the spot for a while.

-

Morin was in a sour mood when he sat down. Snape looked at him and said:

"What is it?"

"Remind me I have to avoid that woman from the Ministry more," the older man replied and rubbed his temples. "Barely five minutes alone with her, and I'm already having a headache."

"What did she do?" Snape asked.

"Oh, the usual old Ministry talk," Morin replied. "Nothing to worry about."

The potions master looked up as Umbridge stepped inside and refrained himself from glaring.

"Go to Albus if she doesn't leave you alone," the younger man suggested.

"She will leave me alone," Morin said. Snape raised an eyebrow and Morin admitted, "Eventually anyway."

"I knew you would add that," Snape muttered as the woman sat down. "Don't look so down Morin; you'll make your students worried."

The older man looked up and glanced around the hall. True; more than half of his students were eyeing him worriedly.

"Why are they staring?" he asked.

"They are worried," Snape replied, like explaining to a child. "They don't want one of their favourite teachers to be down."

"Favourite?" Morin turned to the potions master as he picked up his tea cup.

"Yes, haven't you heard them?" Snape chuckled slightly. Morin had probably never heard he was someone's favourite. "They are already discussing DADA, and some even look forward to it."

"They do?"

"Don't look so surprised. You are quite a teacher," Snape said. "I remember my old Potions professor when I hear them gossiping."

"Oh, who?"

"Alexander Riddler," Snape replied. "A good man. He taught in DADA and Advanced Potions."

"Oh, he must've been quite good for that," Morin said. Snape did not notice the older man's shaking hands.

"He was," the potions master said. "He taught me the pleasure of potions."

"Where is he now then?"

Snape looked down at his plate and answered shortly:

"He died just before You-Know-Who was brought down."

Morin decided not to ask anymore.

'But if you only knew how close Alexander Riddler really is, Severus,' the older man thought sadly.

-

Harry's first day went smoothly. They had Potions with Ravenclaws, Transfiguration with Hufflepuffs and Charms with Ravenclaws again. Dumbledore seemed keen to keep Gryffindor and Slytherin apart, and it seemed to be appreciated by the teachers.

Though on their first Potions class, Umbridge had been there. Harry did not know why, but he did not like that woman. She seemed to be after some of the teachers. She rambled on and on while Snape let them do a test. The emerald-eyed teen had never seen the potions master's eyebrow twitch so many times in an hour. When she left after that hour, everyone relaxed. The students could even hear Snape say:

"Bloody hell, I'm going to kill that woman."

When some of them had giggled at that, Snape had merely said:

"What? I'm just voicing all your thoughts."

That made most of them burst into laughter. Despite Snape's position as a 'Death Eater', he still acted like last year. Everyone said it had all been thanks to one Morin Black.

When Harry sat down for dinner, it seemed like Snape had a lot of fun with the poor emerald-eyed man. The man kept talking, almost gesticulating when the potions master did not understand, and it was hilarious to watch.

"Why do they thank me, Severus?!" Morin said.

"Who?"

"All the students! They come and just say 'Thank you' and then leave without letting me know why they thank me!"

Snape chuckled and Morin glared.

"Seems like Umbridge is not a happy one," the potions master remarked. "The students spoke very high of you in front of her."

"She is trampling over my nerves with those ugly shoes of hers, what disrespect to show your elders!" the emerald-eyed man exclaimed and the younger one stifled a laugh by pretending to cough. Dumbledore raised an eyebrow at them, clearly amused.

"What is he doing?" Fred asked as he sat down.

"Morin?" Harry replied and the twin nodded. "I think a lot of us who had Potions today went and thanked him for changing Severus so much. Only he doesn't know why we thanked him."

Fred laughed.

-

As the week went past, Harry began to avoid the toad-like woman from the Ministry more and more. She was a bit like Lockhart; always looking for an opportunity to speak to him. Only she wanted to know everything Morin told him, if the man ever mentioned the Dark Lord and so on. Finally on a Friday, four weeks since school had started, she was yet again asking her questions and Harry got enough. He turned to her and asked:

"Why do you ask me all this?"

She looked offended but replied:

"To protect you!"

"Morin doesn't want to hurt me," the emerald-eyed teen said. "Neither wants Severus, Draco, Blaise or Pansy. They are nice."

"They are Slytherins, Mr Potter," Umbridge said.

"Yes… so?"

"You seem utterly carefree about your safety," Umbridge said. "You of all people, you who are---"

"If Draco wanted me dead, why did his father try to kill him?" Harry interrupted. "If Morin wanted me dead, he could have let me died during the accident last year when the floors were destroyed. If Severus wanted to kill me, he had four years to do so, and countless of chances last year."

"Enough!" she shrieked. "You don't see the danger. Maybe if minister Fudge can put you somewhere safe…"

"Listen now," Harry snapped and she stopped. "You are not going to put me anywhere I don't want to be. You are not going to harass my teachers or my friends anymore. You are not going to pester me anymore. You will leave me alone, before I complain to the headmaster of you making me late for classes, you pestering me about questions I don't know an answer to or about what you just said."

"Are you trying to say something?" Merlin, this woman was dumb!

"Yes, I'm trying to say something," the raven-haired teen moaned before leaning closer. "You, Miss Umbridge… are an irritating woman. You seem to think too low about me. You are wrong about Morin, and yet you ramble on. Your work here is to see if the castle is safe. It is, so your job is finished."

He stalked away, but the woman gripped his arm and shouted:

"You clearly do not know what you are talking about, Potter!"

"Dolores!"

She whipped around to face the headmaster. Dumbledore wrenched her hand from Harry and said:

"Violence is not allowed here, Dolores. And neither is pestering a poor student. Your job is not to pester young Harry, neither is it to make Morin worried. You are not very good for Morin's nerves, and apparently, not Harry's either. I will talk to Cornelius to send you back since your work here is finished."

She was red in her face, wrenched free and all but ran from the corridor. The old wizard smiled at the emerald-eyed teen and said:

"I've been waiting for that all since she arrived."

"Why is she on Morin?" the teen asked as they walked down the corridor.

"Old things," Dumbledore answered. "Morin being Voldemort's friend… the list goes on and on and on. I can't understand that; just twenty years ago they always seemed to think he had been an excellent Auror."

"He's been an Auror at the Ministry?!" Well, Morin had mentioned he had been an Auror but with the way the Ministry treated him Harry had never thought more of it.

"Harry," the headmaster said with a laugh. "Dear old Morin has been many things. When you get older, I will tell you his story."

While the old wizard walked on, the emerald-eyed teen was puzzled. Why could not Morin tell his own story?

-

Morin was rubbing his temples, book forgotten in his lap. Poppy had given him another lecture; Pepper-Up potions for six days a row was not that good. And increased doses of _the_ potion were apparently not so good either.

A knock on the door made his head pound and he groaned. Snape stepped inside. Once he saw Morin sit slumped down in a chair he walked forward and plucked the book from the man's lap. Morin did not react.

"You are going to bed."

"Traitor."

"That joke is getting old now."

The older man looked up with a tired smile, but the potions master paled.

"Morin, it's coming blood from your nose."

Morin touched one delicate hand to his nose and drew back.

"Oh," he said dumbly. "Stress does not work well with me I guess."

Snape snatched the potion that was resting upon the table near the emerald-eyed man, opened the lid and said:

"Bottom up, now."

The older man looked tiredly at the potion, his hand faltering half way.

"Morin?"

As an answer, the man closed his eyes and fainted.

-

Umbridge was walking down the hall when she came to the Infirmary. She heard Dumbledore and the potions master talk and stopped. She never gave up on an opportunity to listen in on them.

"He just collapsed?" the old headmaster said.

"Yes," the deep voice belonging to Snape answered. "You can't let him continue like this, Albus. He's killing himself."

"Even if I wanted, there is no way I can stop Morin," Dumbledore answered. "His stubbornness is quite extraordinary."

"This is not about stubbornness," Snape hissed. "He is dying and you refuse to see that!"

"Severus, around one year ago I believed he was dead. That he had been dead for fourteen years, and I still thought of him a lot. Then he comes back to life, and already now is going to be taken from me? From us all? I don't want to think about the end right now."

"At this rate, he's bringing the end closer and closer!"

The woman looked through the door and saw the man they were talking about. Morin's face was white compared to his raven hair and black clothing. His lips had taken a slightly blue colour and there were dark rings underneath his eyes. Poppy was currently making the feeble man swallow a potion. The dark pools of emerald looked now black compared to his skin. His bony fingers could not quite get a good grip on the bottle, so the medic witch held it for him. He then irritably shook the concerned woman away from him, while the headmaster and the potions master watched the scene worriedly.

Umbridge thought this would be interesting information to the minister. The raven-haired man was too dangerous to the school, and blaming him going away from the school due to illness was perfect. She had a malicious smile on her lips.

"Dolores?"

She backed off, but the headmaster opened the door. The twinkle in his eyes was gone, replaced by a cold glare.

"You're hiding something about Black!" she spit out. "Oh, wait until Mr Fudge hears this---!"

"Hear what?" Dumbledore said. "That Morin is ill? What kind of information is that if I may ask?"

"You are hiding something about him, Dumbledore. Something you refuse to tell me."

"I'm not hiding anything," the man said. "Do tell Cornelius I have a temporary ill teacher if you wish to; I doubt he will find it interesting."

Her face went red again and she stalked away. Dumbledore looked after her with mild curiosity.

"Severus?"

"Yes, Albus?"

"Remind me to never let in any of the Ministry's workers if they are going to act the way Dolores does."

-

The toad-like woman left the school at Monday morning, and the students breathed a sigh of relief. Most of them had been worried about the raven-haired DADA teacher, since he sometimes looked even sicker than Remus. Remus even had to cover a few lessons for the older man.

Harry looked up to the Head Table, where the emerald-eyed man was speaking to McGonagall. His face was still pale, he still had dark rings underneath his eyes but he was smiling and so did his eyes. And that made the younger emerald-eyed one very happy.

Harry looked over to the Slytherin table and his eyes met another one's. The Gryffindor smiled widely to the blonde Slytherin. Draco smiled back. Hermione looked over at the Head Table as well and said:

"Professor Black looks much better now."

"That Umbridge wasn't good for him," George added and Fred nodded.

"Certainly not," the bushy-haired girl said. "You alright, Ron?"

The redhead looked at her and nodded, but said nothing. He did not notice as the other ones nearby shifted their attention to him; he was already lost in thoughts. He was feeling really strange. Seeing Morin all pale and weak made something stir inside him; something that made him feeling nervous. He was not really the most observant person, but he was not an idiot. And you tend to notice when you suddenly have emotions that should not be there. Blood lust, a craving to kill… Ron shuddered, and did not hear Harry asking him if he was alright. The redhead had finally realized it.

There was something inside him that did not belong. Something very dangerous.

Tbc…

* * *

**EDITED 2010-01-20**

Until later,

Ja,

Tiro


	14. Ch 13: A Day for the Dead

**Reverse of a Dark Future**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Harry Potter, JK Rowling does. She is a wonderful author and I love her Harry Potter books. I do not own any of the persons in this fic **except** for Morin Black and Anemone Poena. They're mine, I created them!

**Spoilers**: Um, book four and five. Only a bit though in the fourth book, and book five does not happen in this fic except that I mention some things and some creatures you should be aware about. Good if you have read up to book five. Book six or seven does not happen at all.

It's not spoilers, but I will warn you that all of the characters will be a bit different. The most major ones are Snape, Draco, the Weasley twins, Percy and Voldemort. Oh, and Harry will be a bit different, and I warn you it will be a bit mental abuse from the Dursleys directed to our little Harry.

And beware, because I am an evil girl and I have changed Voldemort's past!

Not everything will center on Harry, but most of the time it will together with Morin. Morin is involved in Harry's whole life and they will get close to each other. Some parts will be all Morin, but I will not make this fic so it will only be about Morin, don't worry.

**Pairings**: Slight pairing between Morin and Voldemort.

-

**EDITED 2010-01-20**

-

**Chapter Thirteen: A Day for the Dead**

Things looked much better for Morin all since Umbridge left. Without her pestering aura, the man could finally concentrate on something else; Harry. The removal of Voldemort's soul. Things were not so easy as he would have thought in the beginning. The soul could not just be removed from the teen, but required something more. He just had not figured out what

Morin sighed as he put down yet another useless book. Madam Pince had not questioned his strange request, but even her assistance had not given much. There was no answer to find in the school. There was only one more place where to look… and he did not want to do it at all. But there was no other choice. He put his head in his hands and said softly:

"Guess it's time to head _home_… maybe should tell the house-elves I'm coming; wouldn't want to give them a heart-attack."

-

School went quickly now when the Ministry was not looming over them all the time. Harry made a schedule for each day so he could spend time with all of his friends, and his favourite teachers Morin, Remus and even Snape. He and Draco visited Snape every Saturday morning, often with some kind of homework and stayed there until lunch. Then they would go to the Great Hall for lunch, and Harry would go to Morin and do something. Often the blonde Slytherin or Hermione followed with him. Ron had begun drawing himself back a bit, like he was worried about something. The raven-haired teen had done what he could; the rest was up to the redhead.

A few days before Halloween the two teens, Draco and Harry, were walking down the corridor to visit Morin. The blonde's hair was ruffled and he was yawning. Harry looked on, amused. It was Sunday morning, around seven. They always had the bad habit of visiting the DADA teacher early.

They got to the door and it swung open before they could knock.

"Morin, that's creepy," Draco whined as they moved inside.

Morin only smiled at them. He was already dressed, and reading a book. Harry sat down and said:

"I've been wondering about something."

"About what?" the older man replied.

"How come you never read the Daily Prophet?" the emerald-eyed teen asked.

Morin glanced up at him and looked thoughtful. Then he shrugged and said:

"I don't read lies. They're boring."

"They do have some truth," Draco said as he took a cup of tea.

"Not many," Morin answered and with a wave of his wand the blonde's hair was combed.

Harry looked around in the room, then said:

"Is it only me or do you have a lot more books than usual?"

"I have a lot more books than usual," the man answered.

"Where do they come from?"

"My house."

"But we didn't see any of those books," Draco said.

"My other house," Morin said. "The one in England."

"Why have you been and taking books from there?" Harry asked.

"Research," Morin answered and looked at the raven-haired teen with a smile. "You know me and potions ingredients."

Draco did not notice, but Harry did. The man's smile was strained.

-

"How long will you be able to keep it from them?"

Morin looked up from the book to the potions master's frowning face. The man stepped forward and put down a bottle.

"Your dose", Snape said.

"Thank you."

"Well, are you going to answer?"

"I'm not going to tell them," the older man answered and downed the bottle. He grimaced at the bitter taste, gagged a bit so that Snape just had to smile and continued, "There is no need to make them worried."

"We're talking about you, someone they respect very much," Snape said. "They do deserve the explanation."

"Severus," the man said and for once his voice sounded tired. "This is not something I can tell youngsters. No one is supposed to survive _that_ potion. If they find out, they will tell their parents, and then the news are out."

"Alright, alright," the potions master snapped. "But you will be careful?"

"Yes I will," Morin said. "No reckless adventures or stupid Gryffindor heroism."

"You are a Slytherin," the younger man said.

Morin only smiled, and Snape shook his head at him.

-

Morin looked at the door long after the potions master had left. Then he smiled yet again and said quietly:

"You have no idea how much of a Gryffindor I really am, Severus."

-

Voldemort flung the book aside with a growl. He fell back onto his chair and leaned his head back. Every single book, and the notes were not there! He got up once more; he would find the notes to _it_ even if it meant he had to search the entire world for them.

-

A tingling sensation spread in Morin's body and he put the quill down. He sighed and rubbed his temple.

"Stop it, Tom," he almost whined. "You're giving me a headache and I'm trying to work."

Anyone who would have listened and watched would have been puzzled. But the raven-haired man soon stopped rubbing his temple and the magic that had begun to spike only moments ago quieted down. The man looked up, let out a silent "Thank you, Tom" and soon continued with his work.

-

Morin felt a strange feeling once Halloween began to close in. Normally he did not feel it, but now Voldemort was back. He could not really help it; the only who had really cared was the Dark Lord and Anemone.

He was sitting in his office, grading papers when suddenly he felt it. The surging aura that indicated that Voldemort was very upset. The man got up from his desk and went to the window. The pain was not so bad anymore, but maybe that was because the other man had realized that Morin would feel pain and refrained himself.

"What's wrong, Tom?" the raven-haired man said into nothingness. "It's soon Halloween; you've always been happy on those occasions."

He did not get an answer. Morin rubbed his forehead and said:

"I sincerely hope Albus has forgotten what happens on Halloween."

-

The headmaster had not forgotten, but he did not bring it up on any way. He had only smiled at the man, and the present had been lying on his nightstand when he woke up on 31st October. The emerald-eyed man had not received a birthday gift since he was nineteen.

Morin was wearing the gift Albus had given him, just to see that old man happy. On the other hand, he noted many of the students looked at him. Snape had his eyebrows raised and said:

"I haven't seen that one so far."

Morin tugged on the collar to the forest-green neck shirt with a smile. His robe was a mysterious silvery colour, attached to the shirt by two broaches, snake heads with rubies to eyes and a pair of tight black pants. He looked at the potions master and said:

"I got it today."

"Today?" the man said with a frown. "Why today?"

"Oh, nothing special," Morin answered. "I got a secret admirer."

"You have many I think," Snape answered.

Dumbledore looked at the DADA teacher with a proud smile. Morin had not worn many colours, only dark green and black so it was a surprise to see him in silver. The raven-haired man tucked a lock of hair behind his ear and looked at the sea of students. They were chatting, telling ghost stories or speaking about Halloween.

At the end of the dinner, Morin received a sharp tug at his mind and he nearly winced. He waited until the students began to file out before he moved out as well. He rubbed his temple as he walked to the Entrance door. He pushed it open and went outside the cold night. He walked swiftly to the outskirts where he could Apparate and disappeared.

-

Harry looked after the DADA teacher as he disappeared from the castle. The teen wondered where he was going, but decided not to pry. Even if he would try to find out, Morin would make it impossible for him. Instead he turned back to three exited Slytherins who were at the moment scaring the shit out a few Gryffindor students.

-

Morin looked around before setting his eyes on the grave.

"I didn't think you would come," a voice said behind him. The man did not even turn around.

"I was a bit surprised," Morin confessed, "that you wanted to meet me _here_ but I guess at Halloween you get a bit sentimental."

"Halloween is the day for the dead," Voldemort said as he stepped forth next to the raven-haired man.

They stood silent for a while.

"You can kill me," Voldemort said softly. "And then the whole Wizarding world would make you a hero."

"I don't, and I'm not a hero," the emerald-eyed man replied. "I won't kill you today."

Morin suppressed a shiver as the Dark Lord ran one hand up his back and settled on one shoulder.

"Nice clothing," Voldemort commented. "Albus?"

"Yes," Morin said. "He remembered it."

Voldemort gripped Morin's chin and turned the head to face him. The other man looked into the ruby eyes without hesitation.

"I haven't forgotten either, Morin."

"I know," the emerald-eyed man answered softly. "What are you planning to do about it?"

The Dark Lord ran a finger along Morin's cheek.

"I don't know. Haven't come up with something good," he replied absently.

Morin's eyes found the pendant around Voldemort's neck and lifted it up in his hand. His wand vibrated as the metal touched his skin.

"You're still wearing it," Morin said quietly.

"Of course."

The raven-haired was brought closer to the dark wizard and sighed softly as he felt Voldemort's lips ghost over his skin.

"Let me give you your gift, Morin."

The emerald-eyed man nodded and let himself be lowered down to the ground.

-

"She would laugh at us."

Morin looked up at Voldemort and replied:

"She certainly would. After her normal death-threats and name-calling of course."

"Ah, I forgot that," the Dark Lord said as he caressed Morin's smooth chest.

Morin tilted his head up and pressed his lips lightly to Voldemort's jaw.

"I miss her sometimes," the emerald-eyed man said. "She always shone up the room with her aura."

"She did, despite being a Slytherin."

Voldemort spread his fingers over Morin's chest and then traced them down to the bony hips.

"You better get dressed unless you want to catch a cold," he said.

The raven-haired man pulled free and got on his neck shirt. He turned around and looked at the Dark Lord. He had his robe draped over himself, but it was open and showed a bit of his chest.

"What do you think would've happened… if Anemone was alive?" Morin asked as he let one finger run along the thin chest of the Dark Lord.

"Many things would've happened, Morin," Voldemort replied. "So many things would've happened I can't even begin to imagine it."

"Would all this happen? You, the Horcruxes, Harry?"

The man closed his eyes for a moment, then he pulled Morin close and said:

"I don't know exactly what would have happened, but if she had been alive you would have been by my side no matter what."

-

Hermione ran up to Harry and Ron and said:

"Guess what I've found out!"

"What?" they answered.

"We already know Professor Black and You-Know-Who were friends", she said and they nodded. "You mentioned a third one, Harry. A girl."

"Yeah."

"I found her."

Hermione put down a book and said:

"This is something I just happened to find. It's a book about Charms, but it seems Professor Black's mysterious friend wrote a lot in it. The book was stuffed away so only someone who really searches will find it."

"Alright, but spill it now!" Ron said.

"Her name is Anemone Poena," Hermione began and suddenly the room temperature dropped.

They were sitting in the Gryffindor common room, so a lot of students noticed it.

"Eh? Why did it get so chilly?" George asked no one in particular.

No one had the answer. The trio looked at each other worriedly.

"You just said her name," Harry whispered to the brunette.

"Should I continue?" Hermione asked.

"Go on," Ron said. "She must be something if the temperature drops when you utter her name."

Hermione looked at the page and continued:

"Alright, she writes she is the same age as Professor Black and You-Know-Who. Belongs to a pure Slytherin family. The Poena family hasn't been to Hogwarts since her though; I read about them and the last one who attended was around You-Know-Who's time. They seem to have gone underground when Anemone died."

"When did she die?"

"Around 1945, maybe 1946," Hermione said, more from her memory since Anemone did not know when she would die. "I checked it up at the library, managed to find a little bit. Nineteen years old at the time. She cut her wrists; declared to be insane. Was last seen with Professor Black, just around a day before she died. I think."

"What is Morin hiding?" the emerald-eyed teen said. "He got so many secrets."

"She's written something else here," Hermione said and leaned closer. "I'll try reading it…"

She looked at it for a minute and then began to speak Anemone's words:

"I've always said to both Morin and Tom, we will be together forever. Joined by our spirits and our blood. Tom and Morin have never received the love I had, so now I will show it to them. Tom at least had a reason, because he was an orphan. But Morin's parents need to pay. Anyone who hurts Morin must die."

Now the fires suddenly blew out from the hearths and panic began to rise in the room. Hermione lit her wand and looked at the two boys with wide eyes.

"I don't think I dare finish," she said in a whisper.

"Just do it," Harry urged her on. "Please."

Hermione looked down and said the last sentence:

"That's why I and Tom are going to kill the world."

-

Teachers were running towards the four common room and their students as Hogwarts had begun to shut down. The temperature was now around 20 below, and falling. Snape ran to Slytherin, Flitwick to Ravenclaw, Sprout to Hufflepuff and McGonagall to Gryffindor. The other teachers ran with the headmaster to the Great Hall in an attempt to at least warm that room up and let the students be there.

Soon students were ushered down the stairs and to the Great Hall. Hermione had the book with her, and her face was white as a ghost. Harry was running beside her, but no one noticed that Ron suddenly stopped. He gripped his head, moved to a wall to steady himself, failed and fell down on the floor.

-

Voldemort suddenly tensed and brought Morin closer.

"She's out," he said. "She's out, and she's angry."

The raven-haired man tried to get loose, but the Dark Lord said:

"You know how she is when she's angry!"

"Yes, but I know where she is! She'll hurt students!"

Voldemort looked at Morin and wordlessly pressed their lips together. Morin wanted to struggle, but found himself sinking back a bit. As usual, Voldemort poured in everything he had into the kiss, and when they broke apart Morin was gasping for breath.

"Go," the Dark Lord said. "Stop her; she'll only get crazier if she continues to kill."

Morin took off a ring he had on his finger, one of those stupid things he had brought from his birth home and trust it into Voldemort's hand.

"My thanks for your gift," he breathed against Voldemort's lips and in the next second he was gone.

Voldemort took a look at the ring, and his eyes widened.

"The ring of the four houses?!"

-

The two in the trio had noticed they were missing one, and tried to tell a teacher that. But they did not want to leave the safety of the Great Hall either. McGonagall kept an eye on the door, seemingly torn between staying or trying to find Ron.

No one noticed Morin's aura closing in. But they all heard the bang when the Entrance door was forced open. Dumbledore, Snape, McGonagall and Remus headed for the door. They opened it and slipped outside.

"Morin, where have you been?!" Dumbledore almost shouted.

Then they noted his pale face, his ragged breathing and his ridiculous wide eyes.

"Morin?" the headmaster said more calmly.

The raven-haired man did not answer, but only pulled out his wand and ran down the hall. The four teachers followed.

-

Morin felt the cold beginning to take over his body but he kept on running. This was crazy; how had she slipped out?! And why?! He stopped for a moment and closed his eyes. He let his aura stretch out, trying to pinpoint Ron. He heard footsteps behind him and knew the other teachers were following him. He 'saw' the still body of Ron two stairs up and began to run again.

-

"Albus, for being in such a weak state, Morin is good at running," Snape panted.

"Morin doesn't know limits," the headmaster said shortly. "Only afterwards he realizes he's gone too far."

A freezing wind began to blow and they stopped. Something solid flew past them, and right into a wall. The old wizard turned around to the now still shape on the floor and called out:

"Morin!"

The man moved a bit and groaned. He got up slowly and dusted his robe off. He looked up at them and McGonagall said:

"What was that?"

Morin did not answer. Instead he walked past them with his wand ready. He looked at Dumbledore and said:

"I'm going after Ron."

"Morin, your nose…"

He swept the blood aside and said:

"It's _her_ Albus. She's back, and she's not happy. I have to make her go back."

"Who's back?" Snape asked.

Morin turned and looked at the potions master.

"A killer."

Morin looked forward again, but this time it was something there. A transparent person stood there in front of them. She had made two braids of her hair and they reached her waist. Her eyes were the deepest blue they had ever seen and her lips red as blood. She was dressed in a white blouse, a black skirt, white stocking and red shoes. She looked at them, raised her wand arm and said:

"Die."

Despite being a ghost, the curse she threw was real. They all jumped aside, except for Morin. The man held up his hand and the curse bounced off his shield. He took the hand down and began walking towards her. Blinded by craziness, the young woman did not recognize him and fired curse after curse. He dodged, shielded himself or threw the curse back at her. He did not shoot one curse back at her. He walked in the same slow tempo, like he was not duelling. The other teachers were baffled; the curses used were all Dark curses and he flung them aside as if they were first-year spells.

Finally Morin realized he would not get any closer to her, as she had increased the amount of spells the closer he got, and let the next curse hit him. He flew back into the wall and he heard the others scream. There was only one way to fight even with a ghost, but that would take a lot out of him. Unfortunately, she left him with little choice.

"We have to take her out!" McGonagall said.

"How?" Remus called out. "She's a ghost!"

Morin closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He willed his body to go limp, his heart to slow down. He could only do this thanks to _the _potion, but it was still hard to accomplish. His eyelids fluttered once before his eyes glazed over. Heartbeat per minute, ten. Intakes of breath, two. Body temperature, 33 degrees. He reached deep inside, asked for a minute's of power to keep the body alive. Harry replied with subtle magic.

Dumbledore turned around as he felt Morin's aura weaken and his eyes widened.

"Now we're on even ground, Anemone," the teachers heard a ghostly voice say.

They whipped around and looked at Morin, but he did not look like normal, and that was beside the fact he was now transparent. His clothing was black, a hood hiding his eyes. His hair was reaching beyond his waist, and he held his wand ready in his hand. This time there was no pendant on the wand; instead the pendant was around his neck. Morin took a step forward but Anemone had frozen.

"Finally recognizing me?" Morin said. "Do I have to leave my body behind every time I see you so you will know who I am?"

His voice was cold, and without emotion. Dumbledore shuddered as he heard the old Morin.

"Morin…" the ghost whispered.

"Why are you here? You are dead, and therefore do not belong here."

"It's the day," she answered. "I always come back this day."

"There is no need to," Morin answered. "Go back."

"Where is Tom?"

"He's dead, just like I said he would," the raven-haired man said. "I always said, if you two didn't stop he would die and a monster would take his place. I always said, if you, Anemone, didn't stop you would kill yourself."

"I rather be crazy and dead than stop," Anemone answered.

"Why, Anemone?" Albus said. "You were so different when you began here at Hogwarts."

"When I began here, professor Dumbledore, I didn't know about the cruelty of other pure-bloods," the girl replied with a sneer. "Tom let me see who they really were. Morin suffered thanks to the pure-bloods. Anyone who makes Morin suffer has to die."

"Seems like you're still going after that," Morin said. "Will you go away so I can return to my body?"

Anemone looked at him for a long time. Walking forward, she lowered his wand and placed a hand on his cheek. They gazed into each other's eyes. A smile came over her face and she whispered:

"Anything for you, Morin, you know that. Happy birthday."

Then she was gone.

-

The cold suddenly disappeared and the fires lighted again all around the castle. The students spent the night in the Great Hall just in case.

The next morning Dumbledore announced a free day was in order and everyone cheered. Almost everyone. Hermione, Harry, the twins and the Slytherins were a bit worried. They were on their way up to the Hospital Wing to see Ron. Snape had told them they found the redhead in a kind of coma, and he had not woken up yet.

They stepped inside and were even more confused when they saw Morin lying on one bed.

"Professor Black?" Pansy said in disbelief.

"Yes, it is Morin," an old voice answered.

They turned around and looked at Albus. He smiled a bit tiredly at them and said:

"Morin will be fine soon; I'm more worried about our young Mr Weasley."

Harry caught sight of the redhead and stared. Ron was pale as a sheet, and lay unmoving on a bed in the further end. The emerald-eyed teen could hardly see his friend's chest move.

"His condition is stable," Madam Pomfrey said. "The only problem is that he doesn't wake up."

"No explanation at all to it?" the old wizard said.

"No," the witch said. "I'm hoping Mr Weasley's friends maybe can cheer him up a bit."

"We'll do our best," Hermione said.

Albus had gone to Morin's bed while they chatted a bit and said:

"Poppy, I think Morin needs his potion."

The teens looked at each other with the same thought running through their minds: 'His?'

The medic witch looked at the headmaster and said:

"I just gave him a dose a few hours ago!"

"His system isn't up on full," Dumbledore said as he sat down. "Brink half of a normal dose?"

"Normal for Morin or normal for anyone else?"

"Normal for anyone else."

"Thank Merlin for that," Madam Pomfrey muttered as she went to her office.

She came back with a small bottle and handed it over to Dumbledore. Meanwhile the teens had gone to Ron's bed but they watched the scene nonetheless. With careful movements, the old headmaster slipped one hand underneath Morin's back and carefully lifted him up. He uncorked and put the bottle to the emerald-eyed man's slightly blue lips. Madam Pomfrey used her wand so that even though Morin was unconscious he would swallow the potion. He was then put back onto the bed and the teens heard her say:

"This is getting out of hand, Albus."

"How come?"

"Albus, Morin is up to three times the normal dose!" the witch said. "Any more, and he won't be able to eat! And he takes the potion every few days; normally people drink _that_ potion, normal dose, once a week!"

"He needs it."

"What he needs doesn't exist in this world, Albus," the witch continued and sat down. She took the lying man's limp hand and held it loosely. "Albus, Morin's dying."

The teens held their breaths. The adults did not even seem to notice them. Dumbledore looked at her and said:

"What can I do, Poppy? When Morin falls, he just picks himself up, dust it off and continues. Even if we did take him to St Mungo, would he stay there? He would be gone without a trace the next day and you know that. No spell or charm works on him, and no one can convince him to stop."

"Albus," Madam Pomfrey said and looked at Morin's hand. "He can't teach anymore. The stress is too much for him; he shouldn't even be able to stand up!"

"When he was diagnosed, the best healers gave him one year to live," the old wizard said. "He lasted, without any potions except for Blood-replenishing, for eleven years."

"Yes, and then _that_ came," the witch hissed. "But now _that_ is fading away and he's going back to the worst period of his life; the time just after he was diagnosed."

"Poppy." Something in the man's voice made them all look at each other. He sounded so sad. "Morin's worst period in his life lasted from when he was twenty-five until I believe even to this day."

-

Morin heard voices, but they were a bit too blurry for him to hear what they said. He peered one eye open carefully and looked at the old headmaster's worried and tired face. Green eye darting over to Madam Pomfrey's equally worried and tired face. Time to shake this place up.

"Discussing me?" Morin said weakly and the two adults jumped, startled. "You only have such serious faces when you're talking about me."

His voice was barely a whisper, but Morin nonetheless. The witch ran a wand over his body and said:

"You overdid it this time, Morin. You overdid it a lot."

"I know," the man said with a huff and tried to sit up.

"Don't even try it, young man!" Madam Pomfrey almost shouted.

"Poppy, my back hurts," Morin complained, not aware that the teens were there.

Dumbledore's gentle hands were suddenly on his back, helping him to sit up.

"As long as I help him, you will accept it, right?"

The woman looked at the headmaster, and threw her hands up.

"You two are impossible!"

She walked over to her other patient, who would not give her half the trouble Morin presented. The man looked towards the others and said:

"Is that Ron?"

"Yes," Dumbledore answered. "He hasn't woken up."

"You need a potion," Morin answered and the medic witch turned around.

They all looked at him and he continued:

"It should be in your supply, Poppy. It's called Redanimare."

She looked at him and said:

"You only use that if the person has been possessed…"

"Ron was possessed. He still is," the emerald-eyed man said and looked away. "He's being possessed by Anemone."

-

The teens stared at the man. Madam Pomfrey almost dropped her wand. The old wizard looked at Morin and said:

"How long have you known this?"

"Over a year," Morin answered softly. "She couldn't hide very long from me."

"You knew Ron was possessed and never said a word?!" Fred screamed. "Why?!"

"Fred, calm down!"

Chaos erupted. Morin only looked on as Dumbledore tried to calm down the Weasley twins. Even Hermione seemed tempted to scream at the DADA teacher as well.

"Some things cannot be told," the emerald-eyed man said loudly and all motion stopped. "Sometimes you cannot speak up what's going on. Sometimes, you have to keep silent."

"How could you keep silent about this?!" the twins called out. "You could have told mum or dad at least!"

The screaming began once more. Every word hit Morin like a dagger in his chest. He closed his eyes and said wearily:

"I think I'll go back to my chambers."

"Morin, you aren't healthy enough," the medic witch said.

The man ignored her and rose up. Pain struck every part of his body, but he did not let himself fall. He gripped the bed hard and the twins stopped screaming as they saw blood dripping out from his nose. The raven-haired man held a trembling hand to his nose, looked up at them and said:

"Just leave me alone for a while, please."

Then he turned around and walked out.

-

Snape did not even bother to knock on the door to Morin's bedroom. He got inside and stopped. Morin was lying on the bed, staring onto the roof. Spots of blood had fallen down onto the sheets, but the potions master noticed to his relief not much. He stepped forward and gently removed Morin's shoes and the raven-haired man looked at him.

"How are you feeling?" Snape asked.

"Like shit," the older man answered.

"They weren't really angry at you," the younger man continued as he removed the silvery robe from the man's shoulders. "They were just worried."

Morin looked away. Snape sat down and said:

"You will rest this weekend, or else we'll have Remus take over your classes on Monday."

The man did not answer. Snape sighed and turned Morin's head to his.

"Ron woke up," he said. "He got angry at them when they had been angry with you. But he did want to talk to you about Anemone."

"Please no," Morin moaned. "I can't talk about her."

"Why not?"

"Would you speak freely about Voldemort in front of Draco?"

"Of course not!"

"The subject on her is as forbidden as the subject of Voldemort," Morin hissed. "Don't make me speak about her."

Snape saw darkness in those eyes. He saw pain, hatred, anger and rejection – but the worst of all; he saw _fear_.

Did Morin fear his old friend that much?

Tbc…

* * *

**EDITED 2010-01-20**

Until later,

Ja,

Tiro


	15. Ch 14: The Darkness in the Light

**Reverse of a Dark Future**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Harry Potter, JK Rowling does. She is a wonderful author and I love her Harry Potter books. I do not own any of the persons in this fic **except** for Morin Black and Anemone Poena. They're mine, I created them!

**Spoilers**: Um, book four and five. Only a bit though in the fourth book, and book five does not happen in this fic except that I mention some things and some creatures you should be aware about. Good if you have read up to book five. Book six or seven does not happen at all.

It's not spoilers, but I will warn you that all of the characters will be a bit different. The most major ones are Snape, Draco, the Weasley twins, Percy and Voldemort. Oh, and Harry will be a bit different, and I warn you it will be a bit mental abuse from the Dursleys directed to our little Harry.

And beware, because I am an evil girl and I have changed Voldemort's past!

Not everything will center on Harry, but most of the time it will together with Morin. Morin is involved in Harry's whole life and they will get close to each other. Some parts will be all Morin, but I will not make this fic so it will only be about Morin, don't worry.

**Pairings**: Slight pairing between Morin and Voldemort.

-

**EDITED 2010-01-20**

-

**Chapter Fourteen: ****The Darkness in the Light**

Anemone was not brought up again. Morin was back at teaching on Monday, although he looked a bit tired. The Weasley twins decided to ask for forgiveness, since they were feeling so bad they could not concentrate on homework. They went to Morin's office after dinner and knocked.

"Come in," they heard the raven-haired man answer.

Fred pushed the door open and they peered inside with only their heads. Morin was looking at them, eyebrows raised.

"Playing hide-and-seek?" he asked in mild curiosity.

"No," Fred answered. "Just using the door as a shield if you're angry with us."

"Angry? Now why should I be angry on you?"

"We shouted at you," George said. "Even you just tried to spare us."

"I would have done so if someone kept information from someone I loved," Morin said with a shrug. He peered up at them as they clearly had no intention to walk inside. Finally he snapped: "For Merlin's sake, get inside! I feel ridiculous!"

The twins hurried inside and the door swung shut. They took a look at Morin's face and nearly winced. He looked more dead than alive. The man looked at them and said:

"Well, was it something else?"

George looked at the raven-haired man and saw he was hurt; hurt by their shouts but pretending not to remember them. He was drowning in pain. The redhead went past his twin and came to stand next to Morin. He leaned down a bit and said:

"You don't need to pretend professor. I know it's hurt but it'll hurt even more if you keep it inside."

The emerald-eyed man stared, letting George know unconsciously he had been right. Morin bent his head and closed his tired eyes.

"Morin?" Fred said a bit hesitantly. "Are you alright?"

"Nothing, I'm fine," Morin said.

"Stop lying for once!" George said heatedly, tired that the man he respected so much lied to even himself.

"What I'm supposed to say?!" Morin screamed out, making the twins jump of fright and let his head fall into his head. Tears welled up in his green eyes and he wiped the first ones away. But new ones kept coming and soon he was crying. What for, not even he knew.

The twins had not seen adults break into tears many times, but it just seemed natural to them to step up to the man and gently embracing him. Morin's body shook the tiniest bit but he did not want to break down completely. Not in front of children, he repeated. Especially not in front of two children he knew respected him.

But his resolve crumbled as George's hand gently massaged his scalp, stroking his raven hair without really be aware of it. This was a comforting gesture only the old headmaster had shown him once or twice. He broke out in real cries and George tightened his hold, remembering how good it had felt when he was comforted after a nightmare or when he had been hit with Crucio. The gentle petting never stopped, and the older man even leaned in a bit to George's body for support. Fred held one of his delicate hands and squeezed his teacher's shoulders.

The two brothers did not notice Snape until the man gently lay a hand on their shoulders.

"Thank you," he said softly. "You better head back to your dorm; I'll make sure Morin feels alright."

"Tell him we're sorry for yelling at him," Fred said, still holding Morin loosely. "He better accept it."

"I'm sure he will."

The twins left and the potions master was left with the still crying DADA teacher. He bent down a bit and helped the older man up. When he leaned in for some support, the younger wizard did not protest.

"You're going to bed, and you will not complain," Snape said.

Morin looked at the man and said:

"I don't feel like complaining."

His voice was tired and weak. Snape gazed into the emerald eyes and saw the ever-present pain had lessened a bit, for the moment. He would have to thank the twins later for making Morin feel a bit better.

The potions master took a hold of the man and steered him to the bedroom.

"You're walking a bit slow," Snape commented.

"That running was not really so smart," Morin confessed, not wanting to let the younger man know his hips hurt a bit as well. Snape would not see him in the same way again if he told the younger man WHY his hips hurt. He felt embarrassed just thinking about it.

The emerald-eyed man sank down onto the bed with a sigh and wiped his eyes a bit. He was not very much for crying, and was still a bit dazed he broke down so easily. Only when George had repeated the same gesture he had only experienced a few times when he was young Morin realized he really was hurting.

"Do you want anything to eat?" Snape asked.

"I had dinner earlier," Morin said. "Harry made me eat."

"Finally someone with some sense," the potions master muttered while the older man glared. "What did he make you eat?"

"The dinner served in the Great Hall."

"Where did he get it?"

"He knows one of the house-elves," the older man said. "Dobby I think it is."

"That lunatic… well, the house-elf has a good heart, but he's a bit too extreme."

"I heard that from Harry himself," Morin muttered. "Something about a Buldger and a broken arm."

"Ah, that one… brings back not so good memories."

"How so?"

"Lockhart…"

"I heard about that one too," Morin said. A mutter from the deep; information courtesy of both Harrys. "Is it true he Oblivated himself?"

"Yes, luckily."

"Luckily? You make it sound like you were happy about it," Morin said with a slight smile.

Snape looked at him and snorted. Morin felt a tug on his boots and was surprised when Snape continued to remove them without asking him. The potions master looked at him and then pushed him back again.

"Do you need anything else?"

"I'm fine for the moment," the older man said softly. "Just need to rest a bit."

"Harry wanted to see you later," Snape said. "I said probably tomorrow."

The DADA teacher nodded and closed his eyes. He fell asleep quickly but Snape remained. He made a quick scan over Morin's body instead of the daily examination Madam Pomfrey did, and made a sigh of relief when he saw the man had not gotten worse. But he had not gotten any better either. He looked at the sleeping face and noted all the signatures that indicated Morin was in a bad shape; his sickly white colour, slightly dark rings underneath his eyes, lips sometimes blue and the skin too cool for belonging to a healthy person. Snape spread a blanket over the older man, spelled to stay warm all until Morin woke up again and went to tell Albus.

-

The weeks past quickly, almost like in a blur for everyone. Morin kept on teaching, even as the job caused him stress and aching. His body was exhausted all the time, but at least Voldemort was not on his back anymore. He stayed up too long on the nights trying to find the way how to remove Voldemort's soul without hurting Harry. He found it nearly impossible; the books he had collected from home were only a small fraction of the whole library.

And his life did not get easier when Snape walked in on him when he was throwing up his lunch due to stress. The potions master quickly helped him to relax and Morin slumped against Snape's chest. He dry-heaved but nothing more came up. The potions master tucked his hair away and said:

"I wish there was no need for me to tell you this, but _I told you so_…"

"I know," Morin panted. "I just… I can't stop." _Not yet_.

"Why not? I'm sure Albus can find someone, and Remus can take your classes until after Christmas," Snape said. "You need somewhere to relax and recover."

"There is no recovery for me, Severus," Morin stated. "My limit has gone and past several years ago. And I can't relax; I feel worthless then."

"You aren't," Snape growled. "I will not let you keel over when you're teaching; you will stop and that's final."

The raven-haired man looked up at the younger man and said:

"I rather try to help Harry and die trying than sitting in a house and do nothing while a child dies."

-

Snape had not managed to convince Morin to stop teaching, and after a day in bed the man was back. The students noticed he looked ill but it was the students that knew him more that was really worried.

Harry and Draco went up to his office every day, just for a few minutes or doing some homework there. The man never complained. The twins sought out their new hide-out in his chambers at some nights, and could spend hours talking to him. All until he had to follow them to the Gryffindor Tower when they were going back to bed.

Hermione and Ron sometimes followed with Harry, but the redhead could often be found talking a bit with the DADA teacher in the corridors. The teen always had something to ask, and Morin answered. And then they parted, both of them having learnt something new.

Most of the time it was Harry though only. Hermione and Draco had begun being together in the library, doing homework or sitting out by the lake. The emerald-eyed teen had only smiled at them, while both of them blushed.

It was a dark night in the middle of December and Harry was looking at Morin, both seated in the man's living room. The man was reading a thin book and looked healthier than in a long time. The teen had come for help in Potions, since Snape was busy with a Death Eater-meeting and the emerald-eyed man had happily complied. Now they were sitting in a comfortable silence but something was bugging Harry.

"Something wrong?" Morin finally asked, not taking his eyes from the book.

"Not wrong… I'm just curious."

"About what?"

"Since when did you begin wearing that pendant that was on your wand before?"

Morin looked down at the pendant and twirled it lightly between his fingers.

"I don't know actually," he confessed. "It felt better having it here."

"Oh," Harry said. "Who gave it to you?"

"A person who loved me very much," Morin said and looked at it. "So much he threw away a fortune on this one."

"A fortune?" the teen said, confused.

Morin looked over at the raven-haired teen. He put away the book and said:

"Come closer, and I'll tell you how I got it."

Harry eagerly sat down close to Morin, always thirsting to hear things from this man's past.

"I was very young when I got this," Morin began. "I had bought one similar to this person, but a cheaper one. It was still custom-made though. He wanted to give one in return. When I was little, I never enjoyed my birthdays; I had little to celebrate I guess."

Here the man got a faraway look before shaking his head slightly. Harry admired the black curls that danced in the firelight before settling down on his shoulders and spilling down his back. The man looked at the pendant and continued:

"On the day when I turned thirteen, I woke up to see this person sitting next to me. He always did things like that."

"Sneaking up on you?"

"Yes," Morin said with a small laugh. "He gave this to me without a word, and fled before I got a chance to thank him. As you can see, it's pure silver with small pieces of emeralds."

"It's beautiful," Harry murmured. "It's simple made, but it makes it so beautiful."

"There are many things that are considered beautiful," Morin murmured. "He said he tried to recreate my beauty in this pendant."

The teen looked at the DADA teacher, and for a moment the man looked very sad. Then Morin tiredly closed his eyes and said with a small smile:

"My, I think I'm nodding off as I'm speaking. Would you mind helping me a bit?"

The raven-haired teen got up and helped Morin up as well. The man groaned and stretched.

"My body certainly complains a lot these days," the man whined and Harry laughed a bit.

"Maybe you're getting old," he teased.

"Oh, don't sound like Severus!"

Harry helped Morin to his bedroom and the emerald-eyed man fell down on the bed with a content sigh. Harry could not help but giggle; the raven-haired man was not acting like a teacher at the moment.

"I'm so happy it's the end of the week and Christmas is closing in," the man said. "I want to sleep forever."

"Not forever, but perhaps you can sleep in to lunch time tomorrow," Harry said and pulled off his teacher's boots as Snape had done before.

"You don't need to Harry," the man began.

"I want to," Harry interrupted. "I don't mind either; you've done so much for me so helping you to bed is small compared to it."

"Small things sometimes are worth more than the big ones," Morin murmured.

The teen sat down and took away the two clasps that held the robe on place and took the robe away as well. He draped the black material over a chair and put the clasps on the night-stand. When he turned around, Morin was taking his shirt off and revealed his chest. The teen could not help but stare.

His teacher's skin was flawless and pale, but in the middle of his chest was a red, ugly and twisted scar that seemed very painful.

"What is that?" he asked the man.

Morin looked down and rubbed the scar a bit.

"When you are young, you are foolish," he began. "When you think you are invincible, you do reckless things. I thought that way, and this is the result."

"What happened?"

"I don't remember," Morin said. "I woke up on St Mungo with this, and no one really told me what happened."

Harry saw it brought back some painful memories and let Morin undress in peace. The man lay down and Harry looked at him.

"Morin?"

"Yes?"

"This person… was it Voldemort?"

Morin looked at him. Harry knew the answer and continued:

"Does he still love you?"

No vocal answer, but the man's eyes spoke loudly. The last question:

"Do you still love him, sir?"

The man closed his eyes and said:

"Humans can't help their feelings. Even if I've tried hard to hate him. It's just that he is the only person who will love me regardless what I do."

"I wouldn't blame him for loving you. And from what I've been able to snap up, I don't blame you for loving him back. I got this feeling not many people loved you in the past."

The raven-haired man closed his eyes painfully but Harry continued:

"But many people loves you now."

"Who?" Morin asked helplessly. The despair was clear in his face and Harry felt his heart ache when he saw it. Was not Morin aware of how many cared about him?

"I love you," Harry said and sat down again. "You're everything to me now. You saved my life, you protected me; you're like the father I always wanted."

Morin looked up at him and the teen smiled. He brushed away a few strands of hair from Morin's face and said:

"Good night, Morin."

But just as he was about to go, Morin gently took a hold of his arm. He sat up and pulled Harry back.

"A father?" he asked softly, eyes gleaming strangely but not in a bad way and the teen nodded. He was transfixed by the eyes. Morin blinked and continued, "What of Remus and Sirius?"

"They are like my favourite uncles, but no one of them are my father", Harry said. "With you… I just feel so safe with you."

The emerald-eyed man looked at Harry for a long time and then said:

"If you insist I'm like your father, would my son like a goodnight hug?"

Laughing, Harry let himself be pulled into a strong pair of arms and Morin grinned to him.

"Thank you Harry," he whispered. "Thank you for loving me."

"You're quite persistent," Harry teased and the man huffed.

"Cheeky brat. I ought to teach my son a lesson."

"Can't we wait until tomorrow, father? I'm tired and you are about to keel over. I doubt you can stay awake during your lecture."

"Well, fine." With that, Harry was released. He threw a goodnight over his shoulder before racing out so he would not get caught after curfew. Morin fell back on his bed, feeling happier than ever.

-

Christmas closed in and soon it was the last day before the holiday. When the last class ended, Harry could not help but sighing in relief. School had been very hard, since it was OWL's in the end of the year.

He was going to spend Christmas with Sirius, Remus and the Weasleys in Grimmauld Place and felt a bit giddy. This was the first time he would really spend Christmas with a family.

He was sitting in Morin's chambers the night before he would go home to his godfather, and could not help but looking at Morin a little closer. The man looked tired, unbelievable tired.

"Are you alright, Morin?" he asked.

"No not really," the man sighed. "I'm so tired."

Harry rose up and went behind the man's armchair. He began rubbing the stiff shoulders and said:

"You're too tense; relax a bit."

The raven-haired man groaned as the teen found a sore spot and Harry chuckled.

"You're not taking care of yourself," he said, seriously, a few minutes later.

"That's only natural," Morin said. "You have to walk on constant guard with a castle full of brats."

"Hey, we're not THAT bad," Harry said with a pout.

"Liar." The affection was thick in the man's voice and Harry smiled softly.

The emerald-eyed teen finished a couple of minutes later and Morin murmured:

"If you don't feel like being a wizard, I do think you will be great in massage."

"Well, thank you."

"Big plans for Christmas?" the man asked.

"Not really," Harry said. "Me, Remus, Sirius, 'Mione and the Weasleys. That's about it. What about you?"

"Me and my house," Morin said and lifted his rare glass of whiskey. "I've had worse; at least now I get to visit Severus and Draco."

"Why don't you come over a day to us?" Harry said. "They wouldn't mind."

"We'll see," Morin said. "I tend to be a bit bitter on Christmas."

"Not a good holiday for you then?"

"I'll survive it."

Morin looked into the glass and Harry asked:

"What made you not like Christmas?"

"Children without a family tend to do that," Morin said. "It followed with me even as I grew up."

"But you liked last year," Harry pointed out.

"Last year," Morin murmured. "Yes, that certainly is something I will remember for life." _However long that will last._

Harry sat down next to him and took a hold of the pendant the older emerald-eyed had. The teen rubbed his thumb over the small emeralds as the man looked at him.

"Was it really Voldemort who let this be made?" Harry asked.

"He was Tom back then though, but yes it was," Morin answered, looking a bit uncomfortable like he did not want Harry to touch the pendant. "Curfew is due soon, and you have to go up early."

"I'm too tired," Harry said and slumped down. "All those stairs; thinking about it is killing me."

Morin raised an eyebrow. Then he sighed and said:

"I hope you like the couch, because I'm not sharing the bed with you."

"You let me stay here? Thanks!"

"You have to go up to the Tower before breakfast, and get your things," Morin warned. "And you will tell your friends where you were, understood?"

"Understood."

"Good."

He made a wave with his hand and a pillow and thick comforter fell down onto the couch. Harry jumped up and fell down onto the couch. He snuggled down, hands burying themselves in the forgotten robe Morin had not removed from the couch. He breathed in the familiar scent of the emerald-eyed man, vanilla and slightly sweet and closed his eyes with a smile.

"Comfy," he murmured.

He heard Morin set down the glass with a chuckle, and soon the man took off the teen's shoes.

"You have to brush your teeth twice tomorrow," the man said sternly.

"Yes, mother."

"I turn from father to mother? What will I be next; little brother?"

"Nah… you can be big brother if you want to."

"Oh, thank you very much, your highness."

The comforter was put around him and Harry sighed contently when Morin tucked him in. His glasses were removed and Morin said:

"Your glasses are just on the table. A glass of water is there if you want to. Goodnight."

"Goodnight," Harry mumbled. "You smell nice, by the way."

"You're supposed to sleep-talk when you're asleep, Harry," came the dry answer.

"I'm serious," the teen muttered and Morin lapsed into silence. He peered up at the frozen form, although he could not see the man's face and continued, "You smell nice; end of story."

Morin released a small chuckle at that.

"Goodnight Harry," he said and Harry felt him pull the covers closer. "I'm glad you say I smell nice, but for Merlin's sake don't say it to anyone."

"Fine," Harry said and burrowed his head into Morin's robe. "Don't want anyone to know you smell nice either."

"Being possessive?"

Harry just mumbled in response. Morin chuckled a bit and settled down again, lifting his glass of whiskey, watching over the teen as he fell asleep.

-

"We were really worried you know."

"I'm sorry guys," Harry said with an apologetic smile. "But I was tired and he let me."

"As long as you were safe, it was alright," Hermione said. "I'm glad it was professor Black; he didn't give you any trouble?"

"Nope," Harry said with a laugh. "He tucked me him and told me to go to sleep. I don't even recall him leaving the room."

"He tucked you in?" Ron asked with a bewildered face.

"What?" the raven-haired teen said. "Nothing wrong with that; if professor Flitwick had done that though, I would have been a bit freaked out."

Suddenly Harry was grabbed by one twin each and they both asked:

"Did you ask Morin if he could come over?"

"Good morning to you too. Yes I asked him but he didn't give me a straight answer, why?"

"Mum says he was always alone," George began.

"And then we mean always," Fred continued.

"Dad told us he never celebrated Christmas—"

"—or Halloween—"

"—or Easter—"

"—and not even his own birthday! So that's why we want him to come and have a good time."

Harry looked at them. No one of them knew who really loved Morin, and no one of them knew of the little information Morin had shared with him; if they knew Harry was unsure they wanted to know Morin anymore. The teen was not about to tell though.

"We'll see guys," he said and was released. "He said something about visiting Severus and Dray, and that means we can make them drag him over to Grimmauld Place."

"Excellent plan," the twins said. "Now to find two Slytherins!" With this, they meant Severus and Draco and try convincing them to drag Morin over to Grimmauld Place at Christmas.

They bolted out from the common room like they were being chased and left the trio staring after them.

-

Morin walked down the corridors, on his way to the Great Hall when he suddenly began to cough. He held a delicate hand to his mouth and when the coughing fit had passed and he drew the hand away, blood was covering the pale skin. He cleaned it off and wiped his mouth.

The coppery taste; he had tasted it for many years and yet he had not grown used to it. The man sighed and pulled himself up from the wall he had leaned against… only to loose his balance. A hand caught him and hauled him up. He looked at the worn-looking but younger DADA teacher and Remus said:

"Are you really fit to be anywhere outside the Hospital Wing?"

"I've just overdoing myself these last few weeks," Morin said. "I just need to rest on the holiday."

"Just so you know, I'm ready to take any lesson if you feel you can't handle it."

"Thank you."

The younger man held a steadying hand on Morin's shoulder until they reached the Great Hall.

-

Harry looked at the scenery outside as Draco and the twins were playing Exploding Snap. Ron and Hermione were walking the carriages, as were Blaise and Pansy. Neville was sitting opposite side of him and reading a book about underwater herbs. Harry turned on the small box Morin had given him last Christmas, solemnly hoping the man could come for Christmas dinner. He had bought a present in time for the man this time, and wanted to see his face when he opened it.

The lid slipped open and the melody began to play. Harry found the melody comforting at many times, sometimes even playing it when he was doing homework. It was so beautiful.

"Har, can't focus," the blonde whined.

"Keep on going, Harry," George said, "and I'll win!"

Harry chuckled at them. Draco and Fred lost soon, and the other twin grinned.

"Unfair," Draco muttered. "If I knew you could use dirty tricks like that, you wouldn't have won."

"You're just jealous I won!"

"Shut up!"

-

"You're not going?" Snape said quietly.

"I don't like Christmas," Morin replied and turned page in his book.

"Harry had prepared a gift for you," the potions master said.

The older man looked up, surprised. Snape smiled and said:

"Yes, and he wouldn't care even if you didn't get him anything. Now, will you come at Christmas dinner to Grimmauld Place with me and Draco?"

Morin looked at him for a while, and then answered:

"Just a little bit then."

-

"Morin! You came! Hi, Severus, Dray."

Morin 'oof'ed softly as Harry collided into him, and Snape put two gentle hands to his back to support him.

"Harry, you are definitely crushing me," Morin wheezed.

The teen let the man go and Morin held onto his side.

"You can kill someone like that," he complained. "Or at least abuse their lungs."

Harry only laughed and greeted the others. Morin sat down in an armchair and slumped back.

"Tired?"

The raven-haired man looked up to see Sirius. The man held out a glass of whiskey to him, as if a peace-offering. Morin accepted it and nodded a bit.

"Harry's really happy you came," the younger Black said and looked at his godson. "Haven't seen him smile brighter than when he saw you."

"I'm sure he smiled brighter to his parents."

Sirius doubted that, but nodded anyway. He looked down at the man, who twirled the glass in his hand. The emerald-eyed DADA teacher was wearing slim pants, a slim black neck shirt and a deep green robe fastened to the neck shirt by four broaches, each an image of a curled up snake. Around his neck was a beautiful pendant. The raven hair had grown a bit longer and ended somewhere around where his ribs would end. Sirius noted that the man's skin looked bloodless and reminded himself of the incident Harry had told him about. The teen had been really upset and said that Madam Pomfrey had said Morin was dying. But as the younger man snuck another glance, he could not believe he was standing next to a dying man; Morin's eyes were lit up by life and he seemed relaxed. He looked not a day older since the one Christmas he had spent with… the Potters.

Sirius had not told Harry that Morin had known the teen a long time ago, so long ago the teen would probably not remember the older man. The younger man shook his head and took a sip of his whiskey. Soon the Weasleys arrived and he got busy.

-

Dinner was a loud affair but comforting. Molly and Arthur were fully relaxing, releasing all of their worries and the thoughts about Percy. This was the first Christmas the teen would not be with them.

Morin looked at the clock after a while, and thought back on the vision he had a long time ago. An attack on the Ministry. It had been a really long time since he had a vision, but he recognized one immediately. He wondered when it would occur.

"Morin?"

He looked at Harry and raised his eyebrows.

"We're going to the living room," the teen explained.

The man seemed to wake up from his thoughts and stood up. Harry walked ahead as Morin rubbed his temple and sighed.

When he came into the room, everyone was busy giving out the gifts. He manoeuvred himself through presents, redheads, a blonde and a raven before settling down on a free spot next to Remus. The werewolf looked at the children with a slight smile.

Harry came to Morin and settled on the arm rest. He gave the raven-haired man a small box and said:

"Your gift."

"Thank you," Morin said, smiling at the teen.

He opened the box under Harry's careful watch and froze. Inside, on a silken fabric, laid a simple pendant in silver. It was formed exactly as the necklace Voldemort had given him when they were young, but this had only one emerald. The emerald was dark and the teen said:

"I thought it looked like the colour of your eyes."

"Harry… this must have cost you a lot."

"Doesn't matter. I wanted to."

Morin looked up at the emerald-eyed teen and took a hold of Harry's hand. Harry smiled at the man, feeling the strong grip tremble a bit. He freed himself and took out the pendant. He placed it around Morin's neck and said:

"There. Now the other one isn't so lonely."

Morin looked at the two pendants. He felt the teen's hand twirl a piece of hair in his hands and looked at him once more.

"I will carry it to my death," he promised.

And he did.

-

Morin had been convinced to stay over the night, as was Snape and Draco. He fell asleep around ten that night, while the others were still up and chatting.

He was woken up by the alarming sense that something was wrong. He was vaguely aware he was sweating, his throat raw because of the scream he had slipped out when he woke up and his eyes were far away. Snape came into the room, since the scream had woken them up. He found Morin sitting up in bed, hair clinging to his skin due to the sweat, his ridiculous wide eyes and unsettled aura.

"Morin?"

The man turned to him and whispered:

"Percy is dying."

-

Outside Morin's bedroom was silent. All the Weasleys, Sirius, Remus, Harry and Draco were up. They were all looking at each other.

Suddenly Snape came up, hastily conjuring his night clothes to robes and Morin came out after him. He had already changed into robes and Sirius said:

"What's wrong?"

"Attack on the Ministry," Morin said before he almost flew down the stairs behind the potions master. A bang of a door told them the two were gone.

Sirius turned to them and blinked. Harry looked after the two teachers and then said:

"Let's wait for them."

-

Morin and Snape entered a chaos. The potions master quickly pulled some glamour on himself, to not attract attention from Voldemort. His mark had been burning, but he had tried to ignore it for once. Morin nodded to him and dashed out into the sea of fighting people.

Morin knew not to rely too much on his magic, since he would need it later in the fight, and he could not afford taking Harry's at this time, and decided to try a different tactic. Muggle fighting was not usual with wizards, but Morin had learned some tricks. He put away his wand and struck down the first Death Eater with a well-placed kick to his stomach. He swirled around to avoid a curse and crouched down to kick away a Death Eater's legs. He got up and advanced through masses of Aurors, Death Eaters and curses of all kind.

He focused on finding Percy. The teen's magic was weak, but still there. He avoided another curse, felt its power, the heat, pass by his face and finally reached to the teen.

Percy was lying underneath a boulder and Morin effortlessly threw it away with a wave of his hand, wand in the other hand. He kneeled down and carefully ran a scan over the redhead. Not good. The teen's ribs were broken, his left lung had collapsed and a sharp piece of bone was near to penetrate his heart.

Morin pocketed his wand once more, let his hands sweep over Percy's body but not touching. A gentle light emerged from his hands and he sighed of relief as he felt the broken ribs mending back together. He tried his best with the lung but that did not mean Percy was safe. He was probably in chock and had lost too much blood.

A cold laugh echoed in the hall of the Ministry and Morin's blood froze in his veins. _Voldemort_.

He turned away from Percy and looked. Voldemort was sending curses left and right and to the emerald-eyed man's despair, one of them hit Snape. The man flew backwards and crashed into a wall. Luckily it was not an Avada Kedavra but now Morin's blood was boiling.

He ran forward, whipping out his wand. The Dark Lord looked over at him, and readied himself. The raven-haired man was quite a vicious one when fighting. And clearly, he had done something to upset Morin.

Morin brought his wand out in a slashing motion, and a snake of fire cam out from the wand. He stopped, leaned back before sending it off to Voldemort. The man grinned and banished it, sending a green fire snake right back. Morin dodged and disappeared into the shadows. He reappeared a few metres away, the shadows clinging onto his body and creating a ghostly appearance of him. Voldemort widened his eyes slightly as he realized that Morin was not playing.

Some of the men had stopped as they saw shadows creeping on the floor, swallowing up their own. They looked at Morin, who only concentrated on Voldemort. He took a step forward and brought his wand out in the same slashing motion, but this time a dragon came out. He pulled the wand away and directed the conjured creature with his hand. He felt his magic swirl inside him, wanting to break out and truly fight. He fought against the feeling and lashed out the dragon towards his old friend.

Voldemort jumped aside and brought his wand down, shooting out fire at the raven-haired man. Morin dodged yet again and shouted out:

"Serpensortia!"

A large serpent sprang out from his wand and hissed. Voldemort looked at him and said:

"Snakes don't attack me."

"Who said attacking you?"

To everyone's surprise, and perhaps horror, Morin turned to the serpent and _hissed_. Voldemort chuckled and said weakly:

"How I regret the day I taught you to speak Parseltongue."

The serpent shot out and attacked a Death Eater. Voldemort paid no mind. He focused on Morin and said:

"Guess there is not other way; Avada Kedavra!"

The green light travelled towards Morin with the speed of light. Dumbledore, who had arrived as well, screamed. Snape, who had woken up, could not get out a sound as he stared with wide eyes.

The curse hit Morin and he was sent crashing into a wall. Even Voldemort stopped in his tracks. Everyone had expected the emerald-eyed man to fight back, to avoid the curse. The Dark Lord stood still, waited for it, but nothing came. His head whipped towards where Morin had been thrown.

A small coughing made them all jump. A figure stood up, although a big unsteady and Morin's voice rung through the room:

"That's all?"

He stepped out from the dust and they gasped.

There was a hole in his shirt where the curse had hit, right around his abdomen, but other than that he was alright. Voldemort's hand was shaking, shaking so much he could not hold the wand properly. Morin dusted off his shoulders, and looked at the Dark Lord. To their horror, he smiled wide. His eyes lit up with something akin to insanity.

Morin blurred out from view and in the next moment Voldemort jumped back. Morin's curse had missed him with a mere millimetre.

Morin jumped down, brought his wand down and shouted:

"Incendio!"

Fire shot out and Voldemort called out:

"Meteolojinx Recanto!"

The fire died out and Morin ran to his left. He shifted his wand to his left hand and held out his right one. As he ran, shadows came out from his hand and soon surrounded the Dark Lord and himself. The shadows rose like flames, not allowing anyone in or out.

Voldemort looked at his friend and said:

"That Crucio got to your head didn't it?"

Morin did not answer. Instead he conjured a panther and slashed his wand out towards Voldemort. The panther rushed forward to obey the silent command. Voldemort banished it, and ran forward. Morin did as well.

The crowds, Death Eaters and Aurors alike, looked on as the two friends ran towards each other, each preparing a spell. Voldemort shouted out:

"Fiendfyre!"

Morin closed his eyes, opened with a fierce look and screamed:

"Flamma ab Excidium!" (A/N means kinda like Flame of Destruction)

-

Harry was pacing back and forth, nervously looking towards the front door all the time. Sirius and Arthur had left to aid in the fight while Remus remained behind with the younger ones.

Draco was pacing the floor as well, refusing to let anyone calm him down. Remus had brought out some tea to Ginny and the girl was barely calm enough to hold it. Molly was holding her youngest child tightly, she knowing she might not see her husband and son after this night.

"Harry, Draco," Remus said softly. "Why don't you sit down for a while?"

Neither listened. George got up and stilled Harry's movements while Fred did the same with Draco. Harry looked at George and said:

"It feels wrong."

"What feels wrong?" the redhead asked.

"Morin's aura," Harry answered. "I can feel it, and it feels… wrong."

"Wrong it what way, dear?" Molly asked.

"It feels like Voldemort's," the emerald-eyed teen said and closed his eyes. "Morin feels like he IS Voldemort."

-

Voldemort widened his eyes as soon as the curse left Morin's mouth. He jumped up in the air and was lucky.

The flames brought of from Morin's wand were black as the night, and turned everything it touched to ash. Morin looked up at him and brought the wand upwards, sending the flames after him.

Voldemort got away in the last moment and ran up to the man. They were sent crashing onto the ground, where they would not be seen by anyone and the Dark Lord hissed into the raven-haired man's ear:

"Stop this now!"

His words must have been registered because suddenly the fierce flames died out but the shadow fire remained. He leaned back to look into Morin's exhausted eyes. Voldemort wanted to scream. When Voldemort had been younger he had always said that Morin was his light. Then he had gone ahead and done this. He had made Morin like this. Voldemort stroke Morin's face hesitantly, rubbing the jawline with a tender thumb as he ventured down further and further into his own personal hell.

He had made Morin loose his mind.

-

When the flames disappeared, only Morin remained. He lay silently on his side, his wand a bit away from him. The first to move was the old headmaster. He kneeled down to his former student and turned him over.

Morin gazed at him with tired eyes. He opened his mouth and said:

"Albussss."

The 's' ended like a snake's hissing, and Dumbledore knew he was not fully recovered. Thank Merlin that wand was not near him.

"Hello Morin," he replied nonetheless. "Can you stand?"

"Don't think sssso," Morin hissed absently.

"Would you mind stop doing that?"

"Do what?"

"Sounding like a snake."

"Oh… alright."

He was pulled up by the old headmaster while the Aurors ran around trying to help their injured friends. Healers tried to get in but the chaos was great. Dumbledore excused himself, running off to help.

Only then Morin remembered Percy. He staggered over to where the teen was and breathed a sigh of relief as he saw the redhead had not gone any worse. He lifted up Percy, ignoring the pain in his body and turned to look around. He saw Arthur's head for a moment, but then he disappeared. He decided to get Percy out of here and to Grimmauld Place, where he hopefully could contact Madam Pomfrey.

-

They all rushed up as the front door to Grimmauld Place was opened. Molly and Remus pulled out their wands and the werewolf went first. He looked out and gasped.

"Morin! Percy!" he called out.

The older DADA teacher came in, and the children gasped.

Percy was bleeding heavily, and blood fell down on the floor. Morin's face was white as a sheet, and he was sweating. His shirt was ripped and Harry felt a dark magic rest around him.

"Call on Poppy Remus," he panted. "Molly, bring me Blood Replenishing potions, towels, water and some new clothes."

The two adults scrambled to follow his requests. Morin placed down Percy on a bed Fred had conjured and sat down heavily on the floor next to it. Harry kneeled down and said:

"Are you alright?"

"Not really, but I'll survive."

At that same moment, Molly came in with the requested items and Morin pushed himself up. He looked at the Blood Replenishing potions; he could take one as well. He took one, made sure it was the one he wanted, uncorked and raised it in a silent cheer. He downed it and gagged a bit at the taste.

"Are you injured?" Molly said, surprised.

"A bit," Morin said and put the bottle down. "I'm in a better shape than your son though."

Remus burst into the room and said:

"Poppy has already left for the Ministry. Albus called her in!"

Everyone began to panic and Molly began weeping. Percy was in a critical need of a healer. Morin looked at the pale teen before slumping his shoulders a bit.

'Right… what the hell am I supposed to do now?'

Tbc…

* * *

**EDITED 2010-01-20**

Until later,

Ja,

Tiro


	16. Ch 15: Which life worth saving?

**Reverse of a Dark Future**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Harry Potter, JK Rowling does. She is a wonderful author and I love her Harry Potter books. I do not own any of the persons in this fic **except** for Morin Black and Anemone Poena. They're mine, I created them!

**Spoilers**: Um, book four and five. Only a bit though in the fourth book, and book five does not happen in this fic except that I mention some things and some creatures you should be aware about. Good if you have read up to book five. Book six or seven does not happen at all.

It's not spoilers, but I will warn you that all of the characters will be a bit different. The most major ones are Snape, Draco, the Weasley twins, Percy and Voldemort. Oh, and Harry will be a bit different, and I warn you it will be a bit mental abuse from the Dursleys directed to our little Harry.

And beware, because I am an evil girl and I have changed Voldemort's past!

Not everything will center on Harry, but most of the time it will together with Morin. Morin is involved in Harry's whole life and they will get close to each other. Some parts will be all Morin, but I will not make this fic so it will only be about Morin, don't worry.

**Pairings**: Slight pairing between Morin and Voldemort.

-

**EDITED 2010-01-20**

-

**Chapter Fifteen: ****Which life worth saving?**

Morin straightened up slightly and said:

"Molly."

The Weasley looked up with tears streaming down her face.

"Bring me a Pepper-Up potion and the one standing on my night-stand," Morin said softly.

"What are you going to do?" Fred asked as he looked at the DADA teacher.

"Neither of you are a healer right?" he said.

"I can heal scratches," Molly wailed, "not wounds like Percy's!"

"I have a limited knowledge in healing, but enough for trying to save him," the raven-haired man replied. "That's why I need the potions."

Molly nodded and ran out from the room. Morin sat down wearily onto a chair and rubbed his temples. His battle mood had not passed completely and it was no good if he suddenly lashed out at everyone. Luckily his wand was strapped securely in his wand holster and he kept his hands away from there. Letting himself loose control in the Ministry had been bad enough.

Remus had disappeared at some point and now returned with a clean shirt. Morin looked at him, then down at himself and said:

"Oh… thank you."

He turned away and changed quickly. The children could not help but gasp as they saw the bruises and scratches along Morin's back. He pulled it on as Molly came back inside with two bottles. Morin was given both and said:

"It will not be a pleasant sigh; Percy has lost a lost of blood and I may have to… dig around a bit. Maybe you can wait for the others in the kitchen?"

They were unwilling to leave Morin alone, but he managed to convince them. As soon as they had exited the room, he locked and warded the door. He took a shaky breath and turned to the two potions. He downed the Pepper-Up, and then looked warily at the other one. He did not want to drink that, but it was needed. He brought it up to his lips, hesitated, and then swallowed.

-

Arthur looked around as they treated Snape. The man had gotten a pretty bad hit in his head and even Sirius was looking a bit worried. But that could have been because Harry liked Snape so much. Dumbledore came forward and said:

"Seems like Morin has already left with your son, Arthur."

"Why?" the redhead demanded to know.

"Look around," the old headmaster and gestured with his hands. "Percy would have died in this chaos. But I called Poppy here so he's on his own."

"We have to go back then!"

"I agree," Snape said and looked at them. "Morin is not capable of healing Percy on his own in the condition he is in now."

The men decided to get out as soon as they could.

-

Morin bit his lip as he corrected the last piece of rib and then began closing the wound on Percy. The teen was white but with a steady breathing. The man wiped his brow with a shaking hand and put the teen into a healing state. With that done, he collapsed next to the bed. The conjured bed was drenched in blood and so was part of the floor next to the bed. Morin held a hand to his side, where he had been hit and hoped he did not have an internal damage. He had no doubt his face was as white as Percy's and his body was trembling a lot. He could not get up from his position even if he wished to.

"Morin?" came Snape's voice suddenly. "Morin, open the door."

The raven-haired man looked tiredly at the door and made a feeble wave before letting the arm fall back to the floor again. The ward was brought away but the normal lock remained. He heard the potions master unlock and the door swung open.

The sight that met Snape would burn into his head forever. In the middle of the room was a conjured bed and surrounding it was blood. Morin sat in this puddle of blood and was leaning back to the bed. His face was white, his body sunken down and one dark string of blood came from his nose. His eyes were tired and the colour had gone from a brilliant green light to a dull forest-green.

"Morin…"

"I couldn't quite close up the wound," the emerald-eyed man whispered and gestured weakly towards the teen lying on the bed.

"That's alright," Snape said as he walked inside. "Let me get you upstairs; Sirius and Arthur will take care of Percy."

The potions master helped Morin up, but the older man began coughing and spit out some blood. Snape whipped his wand out and made a quick scan on the older man.

"Morin, one of your ribs are broken and two badly bruised," he warned. "Let me help you."

The raven-haired man let himself be led and they were met by several worried faces.

"Taking him upstairs," Snape told Dumbledore. "He has some injured ribs."

Morin groaned at the pain and Snape quickly held him up as his legs gave away. The emerald-eyed man gripped the potions master's shoulders and said man tried not to injure him any more. Remus rushed forward and took a gentle hold on the older man, seeing Snape's panicked expression. Together the two teachers got the feeble man up while Arthur and Sirius went inside to see Percy.

-

Snape led Morin to the bed and laid him down.

"I need a Blood Replenishing potion," he said to Remus. "No, not one… take two just in case. And a Dreamless sleep potion."

The werewolf nodded and disappeared out from the room. The potions master slowly removed Morin's clothing, careful not to cause him any more pain and not to make him more aware. The older man was thankfully half-asleep; otherwise Snape would have been hexed for trying to undress him.

"Morin?" he said when the robe and shirt was gone. "Morin, do you think you can stay with me for a little while? I'll need your help."

The man looked at him with his eyes now almost as dark as the night and he hissed an answer.

"Morin, I don't speak Parseltongue nor do I understand it," Snape replied gently.

"Sssorry…"

"What happened to you?" the potions master asked quietly. "You are like another person when you truly fight."

Morin closed his eyes and turned away his head. Remus came in with the potions and Snape made a more thoroughly scan.

"How is he?"

"One rib broken, two badly bruised, some pulled muscles and a too rapid pulse," Snape said. "Doesn't make sense; his heart rate is so slow while his pulse is speeding."

Morin coughed and a string of blood ran down from his mouth. Snape took out a bottle from Morin's robe and made the man drink it. The raven-haired man gagged but swallowed it.

"Why can't potions taste good?" Morin complained.

"Quiet," the younger man said. "Don't speak, just drink."

Snape fed the feeble man with the two Blood Replenishing potions and the Dreamless sleep potion. Morin did not complain when he was fed that one; instead he just curled up underneath the blankets and fell asleep. Snape began with a sigh mending the broken rib and conjured some bandages to wrap Morin up. Remus looked as the man worked and then silently moved out.

-

Morin woke up later, with the feeling that something was very wrong. He heard yells downstairs and sat up. He hissed as he felt a spike of pain from his ribs, but it passed soon and he got a shirt over himself. He still had his pants so he only buttoned the white shirt, put his wand in the wand holster on his hip and moved out. Sirius looked up and saw him.

"You shouldn't be up, Morin!" he exclaimed.

"What's going on?" the older man asked as he got down the stairs.

"Something happened to Percy!" the younger Black said. "We're losing him!"

Morin moved quickly into the room. Molly was sobbing as Arthur tried to stabilize his son. Percy was white as a sheet and shaking, sometimes twitching. The twins looked on worriedly and Harry, Draco and Ron were standing with them. Morin swept forward and the redhead looked up.

"I thought he was fine," he said to the raven-haired man. "He was fine, right?"

"Yes he was," Morin said. "I may have missed something in my hurry, but I thought I had checked everything over."

"I called Poppy," Molly said through her tears. "She was on her way."

The same moment the fire flared up and the medic witch stepped inside. She immediately went to the teen's side and looked at Morin.

"You treated him," she said. "Something you missed?"

"I was pretty much out of it myself," Morin said with a hand-gesture. "I hardly remembered what I did, but I didn't treat him for any poisons or anything like that…"

"With the way he shakes, Cruciatus?" Madam Pomfrey said.

Molly broke down sobbing again at the suggestion and Arthur got her away from the two of them. Sirius dragged the teens away a bit while Remus dragged the three other teens away. They could look at the only two that could save Percy. Morin looked at the teen closely now, turning everything else out. He gently shifted Percy's head and said:

"He's been hit by something."

The witch leaned over and looked at a small wound that was swollen.

"How could you miss that?" she said in disbelief.

"Poppy, I couldn't even stand," Morin snapped and looked more closely. "He hasn't been hit by Cruciatus though; the shaking has to do with whatever flowing through his veins."

The Weasleys looked at the man and Arthur was tempted to shout. How could the man have missed?! They watched as Morin rubbed his head and frown. He looked at the small wound again and ran a finger over it.

Morin put his wand in the wand holster as he had no need to it and ran a hand over the wound. Everyone gasped as a green light oozed out from his hand and ghosted over Percy's skin. The teen moved towards the green light, and the shivering lessened. Madam Pomfrey looked at him and said:

"Morin, are you pouring your magic in him?"

"No," the man said as he sat down next to the redhead. "I'm merely making this less painful for him while I figure out what the hell that's causing this."

He looked over the injury over and over again, thinking through all the poisons he could until it finally came to him. His face was drained over colour and he swallowed hard. Madam Pomfrey noticed and asked:

"What is it, Morin?"

"Have you ever heard of Excessum Liquidus, Poppy?" (A/N Excessum Liquidus means Death Liquid)

The witch stilled and stared at him.

"You don't mean…"

"Yes I mean it," Morin said. "I think Percy's been poisoned with Excessum Liquidus. It causes the nerves to wreck and his body to shake this way. He's beginning to have a fever, which means he has entered the third stage of this poisoning."

"What do you mean?" Molly said.

"This poisoning has four stages before the victim dies," the emerald-eyed man said.

"Which means we can still save him?" Madam Pomfrey said.

"We need the opposite of Excessum Liquidus, Vita Liquidus," Morin said and rubbed his forehead. (A/N Vita means Life) "It's a rare potion, and very expensive."

"How fast can we get it?"

"By buying it, perhaps a few weeks," the man began while thinking frantically. How was he supposed to tell the truth about the two potions?

"Then we'll buy it!" Arthur said.

"Arthur, your son has perhaps three days to live without it!" Morin snapped. "Making the potion will take perhaps a day."

"Can you make the potion?" the medic witch said with round eyes. "It is said Vita Liquidus can only be made by the creator and a few potions masters in the entire world…"

"Perhaps," the raven-haired man said and held up a hand as the adults began to speak. "I haven't done this potion in ages, but I still have the papers on it and the ingredients. But I can't make it here, and it has to be served immediately to him."

"And that means…?"

"I need to take him to my house here in England," Morin said. "I have my things there."

Things rushed up and soon Morin was about to get into the fire with Percy in his arms. The adults decided to let Snape and Sirius follow. When insisting, Harry and Draco were allowed as well.

Morin hoisted the teen better up in his arms, and threw some Floo Powder. He stepped in and called out:

"Light's Manor!"

-

Snape and Sirius came stumbling out with their godsons and looked around. They were in a big living room but Morin speed out from the room and into the main hall. The four followed quickly.

"Miela!" the man called out and a house-elf popped up dressed in a black outfit with pointy ears and big brown eyes.

"Yes, master Morinius?" the house-elf said with a slightly high-pitched voice.

"I need the potion ingredients for Vita Liquidus along with the papers on the potion," Morin said softly. "Bring them to the lab."

"Yes, master Morinius," it answered with slightly larger eyes, as in surprise, and disappeared.

He stepped up the great stair case and baffled, the others followed. Harry looked after Morin, realizing something. The house-elf just called him Morinius. The same name of the potions book he had given Snape. But it could not be…

-

Morin lay down Percy and lit the fire to the cauldron. Miela soon came and carefully put down a box with ingredients and a stack of parchments.

"Thank you," the emerald-eyed man said to the house-elf. "I will need something light to feed him afterwards, but wait for that until I call you again."

"Um, master Morinius?"

He looked back at it and Miela looked down at her feet, fidgeting with her hands a moment before saying:

"Missis Fiona called. Missis Fiona's worried for master Morinius."

Snape and Sirius looked at each other before glancing at Morin. Harry and Draco had been told to stay downstairs just a few moments ago, and had reluctantly gone down. Morin slapped his head and sighed.

"Fiona!" he mumbled. "I forgot about her; she's growing up so fast. Miela, tell her I'll call her soon."

"Yes master," it said and disappeared.

He began looking through the ingredients, spreading the papers out and looking over them before getting up what he needed.

"You really need so many papers for one potion?" Sirius asked. "I'm not very good with potions, but that seems a bit too much."

"You only have that much if… don't tell me you have…" Snape stared at Morin.

The man looked at them both. He looked over at the papers once more and then sighed.

"Yes, Severus, I was the one who made both potions," Morin said and straightened up. "I gave the poison to Tom, and kept the antidote to myself."

Silence at first. Then Sirius seemed to recover:

"You gave a bloody potion to the Dark Lord?!"

"Black, let's go out and let Morin work!"

"No! He's a fucking loony, giving poisons to Voldemort freely! Do you think Arthur and Molly would want a traitor treat their son with a poison he made himself?!"

_Traitor_. That word struck Morin hard. His hands froze over the parchment he was smoothing out and pain crept up in his soul. He shut his eyes to block out the words, to escape to his mind as he always did. Snape was trying to get the enraged man out but Sirius let the bomb drop:

"You bloody murderer!"

A vase exploded near them and Sirius stopped struggling. They whipped their heads towards the older man. Morin's body was trembling slightly and he said:

"Don't call me a murderer, Sirius."

"What will happen if I still do?"

"Then I will truly become a murderer by killing you," Morin stated and they froze. "Now, I need to focus on saving Percy; if you interfere any longer and he dies, it's your fault."

These words were spoken with calm and quietness but they could hear the anger and pain in them. Morin was pissed. Without saying another word, they left. Morin braced himself against the work table and let his tears fall. This was too much; being called murderer from a man he knows… He sobbed quietly for a few minutes, one hand against his mouth to prevent any noise. Miela came and tugged on his robe. He looked down at her and she stretched out a cloth. He kneeled down to take it, but she swatted his hand away. The old house-elf cleaned his face and said:

"Bad men made master Morinius sad. Does master want Miela to get rid of them?"

"No," he said quietly. "Sometimes, people say things they don't mean. I will be fine."

Miela looked at him and tucked the hair away from her master's face.

"Master Morinius wishes to have some tea while he works." It was not really a question.

"Sounds lovely."

-

Sirius and Snape said nothing as they sat in the living room. Harry and Draco were enjoying themselves with a book they had found. Silence was the only word they could think up when to describe the great manor they were in. They could see where portraits had hung but most walls were cold and empty. They wondered if Morin had put away the portraits or if someone else had done it.

A house-elf had brought them something to eat but other than that there were no movements by the inhabitants of the manor.

Harry was looking around and finally said:

"Do you think anyone else except for Morin lives here?"

"Doubt it," Sirius answered. "Looks like nobody lives here anyway."

Suddenly they heard steps and they all nearly ran to the door. They did not open it fully or made any sounds. They saw Morin coming down the stairs, holding a bottle. Miela was running at his heels and they heard her say:

"Does master want Miela to collect master's potion?"

He turned his head to her and it was only then they noticed his left eye was completely blood shot, like the blood vessels had been destroyed. He looked horrible, and Miela looked distraught. As blood began making its way down his eye, he wiped it away absently.

"No," he answered. "Just fire-call Fiona for me while I get the right ingredient."

The house-elf ran off and he went into a room. They looked at each other when they heard a crash from the room. Morin swore with a hissing end, and they moved back a bit.

He came out a few minutes later, holding a jar and muttering. He went upstairs again and then the house was silent once more.

-

Morin wiped his brow as he added the finishing ingredient. He had more or less ignored anything else but the potion for the last ten hours, and he was tired. He let the potion simmer for a minute before putting out the fire and cooling the liquid a bit. He took a goblet and poured the potion in it. He went over to Percy and gently helped the teen to drink. The redhead coughed a bit but swallowed. Almost instantly the teen's body began to relax and Morin breathed a sigh of relief. He put the goblet down and called on Miela.

"Master!" she shrieked as he collapsed onto the floor. The house-elf ran up to him and helped him up a bit. She stroke his hair in a comforting gesture, something the house-elf had never dared before.

"A light meal for Percy," he said, closing his eyes, "and I wouldn't mind some of my potion and your delicious soup."

"Coming as soon as possible," Miela said. "I'll send Pather to collect master's potion."

The raven-haired man nodded and shakily rose up to get into the armchair. He sat down and only then Miela disappeared. There was a soft knock on the door and he heard the potions master say:

"Morin?"

"It's open," he called back.

Snape opened the door, looking slightly tired and looked him over. Morin said:

"Don't start; I know I look like crap."

A new house-elf appeared with a bottle in its hand. It gave it to Morin and the man said:

"Thank you very much, Pather. Would you mind helping Miela with the meal? I believe my guests are hungry as well."

Pather bowed with a small smile and disappeared.

"How many house-elves do you have?" Snape asked as he went to check over the redhead.

"Ten in total," Morin said. "Miela and Pather are the ones I like the best; they've been here all since I was born."

"What about the other eight?"

"They've been here since I was thirty, give or take a year," the emerald-eyed man said. "They're still a bit shy about meeting other people, so they're only comfortable with me."

He downed the potion as Snape ran his wand over Percy.

"He seems fine," the potions master remarked.

"I wasn't a potions master for nothing," Morin said. "Though I'm a bit rusty…"

"But you did it," Snape said.

"You could have done it as well," the older man said.

Miela showed up and said:

"Dinner is to be ready in an hour. Does master wishes to eat dinner with his guests?"

"Yes," Morin said absently. "We'll take it in the dining hall; it needs to be used more often."

"Missis Fiona wants to meet master soon."

"I guess I'll talk to her then. Thank you, Miela."

Morin pulled himself up and went to the fire-place. He threw some kind of powder inside and called out:

"Fiona!"

Snape wondered what he was doing. But moments later a voice answered:

"Uncle Morinius!"

'Uncle?!'

-

Harry and Draco gaped. Sirius stared. Snape tried to look indifferent.

"Who are they?" Fiona asked Morin.

Fiona was a tall woman with high cheekbones, purple-like eyes and pale, blonde hair. She was dressed in a robe in the colour of Morin's eyes. She had delicate hands just like the raven-haired man and she was pointing at them. She did not look angry though; she was studying them with curiosity in her eyes.

"A colleague of mine from Hogwarts," Morin said and pointed at Snape. "Severus Snape. His adopted son, Draco. Sirius Black, son to Walburga and his godson Harry."

Fiona looked at them more closely. Then she smiled wide and said:

"Well, as long as they aren't mean to you!"

"Fiona, not everyone is," Morin said and rolled his eyes. "I need to freshen up; how about you tell your mother where you are?"

"Like she cares," the woman said with a snort.

"Fiona, she does care even if she is a bit distant," Morin said patiently. "She would want to know where you are."

"I'm thirty!"

The raven-haired man stared at her. She was staring right back. Morin finally threw his hands up and Fiona made a small jump.

"You always give in, uncle!"

"Don't call me uncle! It makes me sound old!"

"Well, you are around seventy years…"

"Don't remind me!"

She laughed and went over to them to greet them properly while Morin went to shower and change robes.

-

Harry decided that he really liked Fiona. She was Morin's cousin-daughter but she really saw him as a real uncle. She was a talk-happy woman and liked to fuss over her special uncle. Her eyes were laughing and full of life as well as the mischief as the twins' eyes held. Morin and she discussed wildly about everything, and they got knowledge he had held contact with her during the years he was supposed to be dead.

Fiona had not reacted differently towards Harry when she got knowledge of who he was; she saw him as a teen with slightly more problems than a normal teenager. He laughed as she said that and the woman replied:

"But it's true!"

She laughed with him and took a sip of her wine. Morin shook his head to her and took a sip of his own wineglass. Sirius seemed to have forgiven Morin, and was now explaining something to the blonde teen. Something that made Snape smile the tiniest bit; the younger Black had finally begun to realize Draco was not Lucius.

No one of them noticed that Fiona looked more closely at Morin during dinner, taking noting of his pale complex and the slightly bloodshot left eye. She narrowed her eyes and decided to have a talk with him later.

-

"The potion is wearing off, uncle. Why?"

"It has its work, Fiona, nothing else."

"Does it mean you will die soon?" Fiona asked.

He just looked at her. They were seated in the library, the others shipped off to Grimmauld Place. She stood up and began walking back and forth.

"Fiona…"

"No," she snapped. "Don't speak, uncle. I can make it."

"The only who can make it is our enemy," Morin tried to reason.

"I don't want you to die!"

"I've lived for almost seventy years, Fiona."

"And most wizards and witches live until they are a hundred years!"

The man stood up and stilled her. Fiona looked at him and whispered:

"You deserve life…"

"I have lived," Morin said and stroke away her tears. "Tom and Anemone gave me life. You later gave me life. Becoming a godfather to a lovely boy was the greatest moments of my life. I have lived, and I have accepted the fact I will die soon."

"But your godson doesn't even know that you are his godfather," Fiona said. "Aren't you going to tell him?"

"I will," Morin said. "But not right now."

The woman looked at her relative and said:

"Why, uncle, why won't you let me save you? You help other people. You save other people's lives, making their families happy. Your life is worth saving as well."

'No,' Morin thought sadly. 'It isn't.'

Tbc…

* * *

**EDITED 2010-01-20**

Until later,

Ja,

Tiro


	17. Ch 16: The Life of Morin Black

**Reverse of a Dark Future**

_Current summary: Chapter Sixteen, the life of Morin Black. Find out some clues about our mysterious Mr Black and his painful past._

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Harry Potter, JK Rowling does. She is a wonderful author and I love her Harry Potter books. I do not own any of the persons in this fic **except** for Morin Black and Anemone Poena. They're mine, I created them!

**Spoilers**: Um, book four and five. Only a bit though in the fourth book, and book five does not happen in this fic except that I mention some things and some creatures you should be aware about. Good if you have read up to book five. Book six or seven does not happen at all.

It's not spoilers, but I will warn you that all of the characters will be a bit different. The most major ones are Snape, Draco, the Weasley twins, Percy and Voldemort. Oh, and Harry will be a bit different, and I warn you it will be a bit mental abuse from the Dursleys directed to our little Harry.

And beware, because I am an evil girl and I have changed Voldemort's past!

Not everything will center on Harry, but most of the time it will together with Morin. Morin is involved in Harry's whole life and they will get close to each other. Some parts will be all Morin, but I will not make this fic so it will only be about Morin, don't worry.

**Pairings**: Slight pairing between Morin and Voldemort.

_Warnings for the chapter: Fluf__f and sex between Morin and Voldemort (yes, they were a couple in school). Mention of rape (not actually happening, but nearly). And a stranger and Morin share a kiss, but nothing else (the stranger is Morin's colleague). _

-

**EDITED 2010-01-20**

-

**Chapter Sixteen: The Life of Morin Black **

**Year 1938, Platform Nine and Three Quarter¨  
****Tom Riddle's POV**

I feel oddly out of place as I arrive here. I am standing here on the platform, alone, in my baggy clothes and looking around. There are wizards and witches all over the place. Owls hoots from their cages, cats are stroking along peoples legs as they walk and parents are taking their last goodbye to their children.

I hate that sight; the sight of loving parents and their adorable children. I hate it because I cannot have the same thing. I push my trolley along the platform, looking for a good place to get in. At that moment, I turn my head slightly and my eyes fall upon the most beautiful person I have ever seen before. My thoughts are that he looks like an angel.

The first thing I notice is his enchanting green eyes, drawing me in. Then his pale complex, and delicate hands that holds a cage with a cat inside. He is dressed in richly green robes, and his long raven hair spills over his shoulders, ending in the tips curling slightly upwards.

I am surprised he is looking right at me; the angel is looking at me, the simple Tom Riddle! He looks sad, and all I want to do is to go to him and ask him to sit with me at the train. But I am somewhat of a coward and do not. It can have something to do with me hating other people. His parents come. Or I think it is his parents. His mother is tall and her raven hair is put up in a tight bun. She looks absent, staring out at nothing, and does not even notice her own son. He does not acknowledge her either. His father quickly pats his shoulder and says something. Anger comes into his eyes, since they are still looking at me before ice comes to seal them off. They become dark and dull, almost lifeless.

I do not know why, but from the first moment I sees this I already hate the sight of nothingness in my angel's eyes.

-

**Year 1938, Great Hall at Hogwarts  
****Albus ****Dumbledore's POV**

The first-years look scared where they stand. I try to do my best to make them relaxed but it is not working very well. Finally I am allowed to begin.

When I come to that particular name, I wonder why his parents decided to give him that surname. It was too Slytherin, but it was common and wide-known. Oh well, I do not think more of it and call out:

"Black, Morin!"

A slender boy comes up, his raven hair framing his face and hiding him from people's looks. His green eyes are dead, and I almost wince. Damn his parents; if they could just stop and really look at him. They never see him, and never care. If they cared, he would not have those eyes. I place the hat on his head and waits. My horror is immense when the hat roars out:

"SLYTHERIN!"

Oh Merlin… A boy from THAT family, ending up in Slytherin? No way. The boy does not seem to be so surprised; he simply takes the hat off, gives it to me and goes to the Slytherin table. Some of the students greet him, and he sits down quietly. This is not good, not good at all…

-

_Later that evening_

My worst thoughts come true. Morin is cast out from his family not even four hours after the sorting. News travel fast, but I cannot believe they travel THAT fast. Either way… he does not react. He just looks at Armand and then shrugs. He seems so empty of life, a doll that has lost its master. He is a kind child, and I fear what his parents' rejection will do to him. I can only wait and see.

-

**Year 1939, end of**** first school year  
****Tom Riddle's POV**

I do not want to go back to the orphanage and being separated from Morin. It took us a while, but we are good friends now. Best friends even; he smiles shyly every time I say so. Apparently he has never had a best friend before. He is a quiet Slytherin, never making a fuss except for being too bright. He has already completed first and second year in all of his subjects. He told just a few days ago me he was going to choose Divination and Ancient Runes for his third year. He seems not to like he is smarter than me, but I said it was fine.

I noticed a girl in our class looking at us last week. Her name is Anemone Poena, and she is quite good in studying as well. She smiles whenever I catch her eye, and I cannot help but smile back. Something lies within her that makes me think she will become our friend as well.

Morin has seen her as well, but he never speaks his opinions out loud. I have to teach him it is okay to say what you feel and think. Anyway, we are soon going home. He is going to the Black family, Walburga in second year being one of them. She is nice, but it seems like she has fallen for Morin's charming looks as well. He promises to write me and wants me to tell him if they do anything bad to me. The Muggles, he means. I asked him why. He only smiles, his emerald eyes shining with something that makes me feel afraid for my life.

-

**Y****ear 1942, Slytherin, the fifth year's boy's dorm  
****Tom Riddle's POV**

I cannot believe Morin finished school today. Finished as in, made his NEWTs and stuff like that. How does he do it??

He is lying on my bed, lazing around. I'm trying to study for a potions test, currently lying beside him. Not the best idea; I find myself looking on his chess board more than the book. His thin fingers tap gently on the sheet as he thinks of the next move. I want to pull him close, and ignore everything else. He only has a thin shirt on him, and I long to take it off and feel his skin against my own. Finally he sets the board away and curls up. Damn him, taking a nap. I want to take a nap as well!

"You're fuming," he says quietly, but with a small smile. He knows I am not angry, and he lets me know he is not afraid.

I growl at him, and throw the book aside. I pull him up flush against me and he looks at me.

"Tom", he whispers.

We are accepted in the house, we know that. No one even reacts if I kiss him in the common room. Walburga gets a bit jealous but she says it is cute. Anemone whoops every time she catches us. My thoughts are brought back when Morin brushes my hair aside.

"Morin," I breathe against his lips before claiming them. I begin pulling at his shirt, exposing his pale torso to my hands. He gasps softly as I kiss my way down to his belly. His skin is so smooth and soft, and I can never get enough of it. I pull him up, making him straddle me. He whimpers as he feel me though the pants. I smile wickedly at him and unbutton his pants. He lets me do it, because he knows I love to take it slow. I can feel his panting in my ear and I lay him down to drag the pants of him completely. Morin moans, and covers up a bit. I smile as I realize he feels exposed so I pull the curtains around my bed and charms them shut. His fingers, oh so beautiful and so fast, began unbuttoning my shirt. I pull of my pants as he opens my shirt. His hands are warm against my torso and he looks up at me. I turn him around on his stomach and his body shivers with need. I lay myself upon him, not having to prepare him anymore. He grunts as I move in, and then moans. His sounds, his body moving to meet mine with bruising force… it makes me complete. Later, in the night I clutch to his sleeping form and hold him close.

I will never let him go.

-

**1947, ****Light's manor  
****Tom Riddle's POV**

It is Morin's birthday today. Me and Anemone finished our present for him in time. For others getting their parents killed is not a gift, but I can feel it will be a gift for him. He had written a letter to us, and let us know he was coming. At the moment we are waiting for him.

When he came we stand up, nervous. He steps inside, and I can see his eyes widen as he sees our bloodied clothes. Anemone smiles gently and I hold out my hand for him. He smiles back to her, walks forward and kisses me on the lips. His robe gets soaked in his father's blood but he does not seem to care. Anemone is rubbing his back slightly as he sobs into my shoulder. For a moment we are a bit scared that he will reject us, but then he says the words we wish to hear:

"Thank you."

The night that follows is wonderful. I have Morin trapped underneath me, writhing under me, screaming my name. He is so wonderful, his porcelain skin flawless. His eyes are deep, hiding a light that even frightens me, and his hair is spilled over the sheets of the bed. Anemone is watching us, I know that, but I cannot bring myself to care. I thrust into him one final time, and watch him reach his climax. His body convulse for a moment, his fingers digging into my skin and his mouth open in a silent scream. His legs are wound around my waist and now he pushes, burying me deeper inside him. He whines when I move to get out and instead of pulling out I just lay down. His legs relax a bit, but do not allow me out. Truth to be told, I do not want to.

Anemone comes to us, despite that we had not finished our reunion. She only smiles though and gives Morin water. He seems so tired, and yet he pushes against me, his eyes wide in lust and his strong body trembling with need. How can I refuse him? As I meet his eyes again, I already know the answer.

I can never refuse him.

-

**Year 1951****, ?  
****Albus Dumbledore's POV**

When I come to the house it is eerie silent. I am afraid I am too late and rush inside. I take notice of that the wards are down, and get even more worried.

I come into the lonely hall, and almost fly up the stairs. I pull the door open to Morin's bedroom and freeze. Morin is lying on the bed, his face pale and one string of something dark coming out from his mouth. The room reeks of blood, and I notice the robes he wears were covered in the liquid. I slowly goes to the bed, afraid he is not breathing, afraid this sweet child has succumbed to death after a long struggle.

My fears are extinguished as he opens his eyes. I sit down, his eyes following me. He reaches out with his hand and I catch the fragile limb. It feels heavy and cold in my hand. I reach out and wipe the liquid away from his mouth. I bring it close to me and smelled it. Not blood.

I suddenly feel a chill up my spine and I turn my eyes to Morin once more. His skin is looking healthier for each passing moment, and his breath comes deeper and more regular than before.

"He gave it to you, didn't he?" I ask him.

Morin only looks at me with his deep eyes. Something is missing from them, I can see that. Hurt and betrayal lays deep in them, but for the moment I cannot bring myself to care. I am too grateful that he is still with me, with us. I clasp the fragile hand tightly, and cannot help but thank Tom Riddle for the crime he committed.

-

**Year 1952, Ministry of Magic  
****Unknown's POV**

I am surprised when the new Auror is a weak-looking guy. Hell, he looks like he belongs to a vampire clan than being a human. Pale skin, fearless green eyes and raven hair. I do not like him, and do not try to hide it either. He does not even acknowledge me and that makes me pissed off.

He acts like he is at the top of the world, but I know how to deal with those. Or I thought I knew how to.

I trapped him a few weeks later in my office, and began ripping off his clothes while pushing him face-first onto the desk, so his ass was up for offering to me. Guys looking like him often got their asses raped, and most of the time they got nicer after a few good rounds of it, and I guessed he had been raped as well.

How wrong I was.

As I began reaching for those cute, round cheeks he turned around and within the moment the tip of a wand was pressed against my forehead. His eyes showed nothing more but pure hatred.

"You will leave me alone," he spoke, for the first and last time, to me.

I never dared going close to Morin Black after that.

-

**Year 1953, Hogwarts  
****Albus Dumbledore's POV**

Aah, he is blushing. I grin at him as I took a closer look at the book presented to me. He fidgets and blushes even more as I take my time checking it over.

"There is no need for you to check it over that much," he mutters.

"Oh, but this is such a joyful occasion," I shoot back. "I'm proud over you, Morin."

"It's just a book," Morin murmurs to me, but I can see him taking in my comment and store it deep in his heart to occasions when he needs it.

"Not just any book; it's _your_ book, Morin," I say back just to see him fidget in the seat. "I see you used Morinius as a name."

Morin nods, and looks at me. I cannot help but sigh in relief. He looks so young now, after Tom had given him it. His skin is still pale, but a healthy shade of pale.

"What are you smiling at?" he finally asks.

"Nothing," I answer. "So, what book is next in this wonderful series? I want to read them all."

"You don't even like potions!" he shoots back, playfully.

"Oh, but with this kind of book I will start liking them," I say, and cannot help the smile coming onto my face as he fidgets yet again.

-

**Year 1955, Ministry of Magic****, Auror's Department  
****Unknown's POV**

I like my new boss. He is younger than me, but he has a strength I have come to admire. He also is good at making plans and sending out the right amount of Aurors at the right time. He seems to know the future. Someone said it was rumoured he was a Seer, but he just laughed at the idea. He said himself that luck was his steady companion.

He has this gentle smile, and all that good aura wrapped around him but I noticed something else. I can see auras, ya know, and I saw something strange about him. Inside the light appearance lays a darker force. To me it seemed like he was fooling everybody that he was light at first, but then I saw something else.

When he fights, he pulls that dark magic inside, and only use his nice magic. It is like he is trying to prevent the dark magic running around free. I am surprised over his ability of keeping it inside. That dark magic is strong, that much I can tell.

But then again, Morin Black usually conquers all hinders people lay out for him, and he does it with a smile.

-

**Year 1958, Department of Mysteries****, the Unspeakables  
****Unknown's POV**

They brought a new person to our group today. They said he is good at planning and he is looking for an escape from his old job. We asked which one, but they refused to tell. They said it was none of our business.

I never saw his face fully, but I have a good sense of smell and great hearing, so I could almost see him in my head. He smelled like vanilla and disturbingly enough, blood. And there was that sweet scent I could not figure out. My mother used to say the sweet scent was the scent of death, and the owner to the scent was the reaper. But I can tell you, he does not feel like he was a bloody reaper.

He moves with grace and easiness, his body light and athletic, and once I saw his hands. They are delicate, with long fingers and beautiful nails. He wears a ring on his right hand, but I did not get a chance to see what it was. The skin on his hands is pale so I picture him pale. His hair is black, and it is really long. For a while, I actually wanted to see his face. I almost saw him like an angel.

I added death so it became angel of death a few months later, when we were attacked. We fought, we Unspeakables, along with other Aurors and I saw my angel fight. His wand is the most amazing thing I have ever seen. It is black, with a picture of a white snake on it and an emerald hilt. I see his eyes in the same colour. I do not know why; it just feels right. And what a fighter he is! Left, right, behind, in front and up. He seems to know where everyone is, and runs, twists, casting spells and protecting. His voice still echoes in my head, the voice that screamed out horrible curses, making his enemies crumble to the ground in pain. His voice makes me think of a young person, and I could see him. I could see a beautiful person standing in front of me, wanting to hide away from a world he had grown to hate.

Afterwards, I described him as I saw him to this unknown man. I left out the angel-part though. I think he looked at me, and then pulled the hood back far enough for me to see his lower face. He had lovely lips and the face was a pale shade. The lips turned into a smile and he said:

"You were quite right. Only one thing though…"

He leaned closer and I had the feeling he was looking right through me, reading my mind. I felt his mind looking at my imagined picture of him, and my thoughts of him and his mind smiled.

"I'm not an angel," he said, placed a chaste kiss on my cheek, as I had wished for, and moved to walk away. I did not let him. I pulled him close and kissed him fully. I had no intention going further than that, and released him a few moments later. His lips tasted sweet, just like death's scent. He seemed shocked and touched his lips in wonder with his fingers. I smiled at him, clasped his thin hand in my bigger and said:

"Yes, you are."

His smile will never leave my mind.

-

**1964, St Mungo  
****Albus Dumbledore's POV**

He looks so small in the bed. Morin, my dear Morin. They called me a few days ago, probably not getting a hold of anyone else in his life, and said he was in a coma.

When I came to St Mungo, they were wrapping his wound. I wince every time I see it. An ugly scar destroying his flawless skin. Healing wounds into a nonexistent thing is easy for the skilled healers, but burning your own magical core…

They said to me as I arrived they did not expect him to ever wake up again. They said it was better if we let him go. Let Morin go? Are they crazy? If Tom or Anemone had been here, they would have killed the healers on the spot. But I am not them, so I simply tell the healers I will wait as long as Morin needs.

-

They think I am crazy. I know I will prove them wrong, that Morin will prove them wrong. They tell me every day that waking up after burning your magical core is not likely. They tell me that Morin was as good as dead. They probably think I am crazy when I laugh at them. But I laugh because I know what will happen.

And it did happen. He woke up. They called it a miracle, they called him a miracle. I said it was just what Morin did; proving people wrong. As I look into his exhausted but living eyes, I cannot help but realize one thing:

He never follows rules, and probably will not even follow the rule of death.

-

**1966, Ministry of Magic  
****The**** current Minister of Magic at that time and his POV **

I was surprised when an old Auror, Morin Black, rejoined us. I have been told he is in a magical coma for burning his own core, but he seems fine to me. Terrible fine if you ask me.

He surprised many other people, when they saw him fight for the first time after that accident. Many gasped and told me that he was stronger than before. Way stronger than before. Stronger? Well, I could not say against that after that fight. He was like a hurricane on the path of destruction.

I saw him talking to the headmaster of Hogwarts as well, in a friendly matter. Albus is a fine man, but not even he is that close to people as with this young man. Morin seems to release some of that cold and distant attitude with the older man, and they seem to be able to talk for hours.

I do not know why, but Morin seems to me be too strong. How can a person, who has suffered terrible injuries to his core, be stronger than before the accident? I ask Albus of this, and the man's eyes twinkles. He gently explains to me that Morin followed no rules. I say it was no such rule, it is just meant to be. Albus say back that Morin saw everything as rules, and rules are meant to break. When I ask about the rule of death, the headmaster takes a deep breath and looks over at Morin. We are seated in the training hall for Aurors, and watching the younger man instruct some more inexperienced Aurors. Albus' voice startles me but I listen:

"Morin was supposed to die when he was fourteen or fifteen."

I stare at him, and Albus continues:

"He had an illness, where there is no cure and the victim is to suffer for a year before dying. He had it diagnosed when he was fourteen. For eleven years, he refused death to take him."

"What happened after those eleven years?"

"He was twenty-five by the time, ready to give up," the headmaster says sadly. "His old friend saved him."

"Saved him how?"

"By giving him something that does not care about the laws of time," Albus says and look over to Morin. "Morin will outlive us."

"Impossible," I say. "Whatever his friend gave him, it will not last forever."

"With enough will, Morin have slain the dead", Albus say and turns to me. He suddenly looks so old. "Can you build up that kind of will? It is that kind of will that kept Morin alive when he should be dead. It will be that will that refuses him to die."

I found no answer, and probably never will.

-

**1970, Hogwarts  
****Albus Dumbledore's POV**

It was not so easy dragging Morin from the battle-field but I cannot not make two friends, and lovers, fight against each other. He is not that terrible angry at me, but pretends to be. He is so immature when it comes to me making decisions for him.

I offered him a position as a teacher. He muttered back no one would allow me to hire him. I said we simply create an alias for him. He looked up at me, his eyes curious. I smiled back.

We decided on the name Alexander Riddler.

**1971, Hogwarts  
****Severus Snape's POV**

The first thing that hit me is that the castle is really huge. I began here only a week ago, and found myself lost already. I do not dare walking around anymore, just hoping someone would cross here and help me out.

I hung my head as I see my saviour. My favourite teacher, professor Riddler. He is my professor in DADA, and very nice. I thought I am doomed. He spots me and comes over.

"Severus?" he asks, puzzled. "It's past dinner time already; where have you been?"

"I was lost," I reply, afraid to see a disgusted face coming onto those beautiful features. A Slytherin does not get lost.

"Then we better get you back then," he reply cheerfully. "My office first; I let you get something to eat. You must be starving!"

I follow him hesitantly, but focus on what turns we take. I do not want to end up there again. Students calls out greetings to him, some even runs up to him and asks him questions as we walked. His smiles makes the students giddy, his answers leaves them stunned. Apparently a contest had been going on all since he began teaching; who could make him speechless. So far no one has succeeded. As we walk a thought begins to form in my mind as I watch his strong back, his flowing hair and mischievous eyes.

-

It followed me all my life, this thought. A thought of how much I wanted to be like him.

-

**1971, Hogwarts  
****Remus Lupin's POV**

James and Sirius took upon themselves to make life hard for Severus Snape in Slytherin. As I do not want to hurt anyone, and yet do not want to loose my friends, I simply go to the library and try to read. I feel guilty though.

One day I decided it was enough. I went to professor Riddler. He is a nice man, and a good teacher. And I could see Severus respects that man. I went to him and told him what was going on. I think he was surprised, but thanked me for the information. He would deal with it as quickly as possible.

-

Only a few weeks after that Severus seemed happier. James and Sirius told me professor Riddler had caught them and had warned them for the consequences if they hurt Severus or anyone else again. Suddenly I did not feel so bad for telling on them. Professor Riddler was always a fair man and seemed not to have told anyone about this so that James and Sirius would get into trouble. Neither had he told them I lay behind it. He made me feel happy inside, as I watched my friends argue about something, thoughts far away from Severus. I realized I wanted to be like professor Riddler when I grew up.

-

**1971, Hogwarts  
****Sirius Black's POV**

I have to admit it was pretty mean of us. Teasing Severus I mean. Professor Riddler was right when he said to be respected yourself, you have to respect others. James is a bit sour over that, but he has been spoiled in his home. He is used to get what he wants, and not used to people like Alexander Riddler.

Professor Riddler teaches us in DADA and also holds Advanced Potions. Severus seems to adore him, and people say he spends an awful lot of time with that man. Though that brat still takes all of chances to tease us, whenever he think it will be fine. I guess a Slytherin will forever be a Slytherin.

-

**197****6, Hogwarts  
****Severus Snape's POV**

Those Gryffindors decided to have some fun. They had their fun… with me. I felt pathetic when they started to hit and I could not hit back. I was stunned, I guess, that they even dared. It hurt when their fists hit my body, and soon I was screaming.

People were shouting, either to let me go or betting who would end me. But suddenly they stopped hitting, and everything went silent. I opened my eyes and shock got the better of me. I had never seen professor Riddler that angry. Magic was practically coming off in waves and with a growl he told everyone to get back into the castle. The Gryffindor gang that beat me up was sent straight to the headmaster's office. I watched as professor Riddler summoned his owl and wrote down what the students had down, I guessed, on a piece of parchment and sent the owl away. I groaned as I tried to sit up and he moved to help me. He knew of my pride, and knew I would never accept it if he offered, so he just grabbed my arm and hauled me up. It took the breath out of me and I gasped in pain. He helped me into the castle, and to the Infirmary. Madam Pomfrey was nowhere to be seen, so he got me up on a bed and began cleaning away the dirt from my cuts. I looked on as he healed them slowly. When Madam Pomfrey came back, he left me in her care.

Only after, I realize he did not know if I had earned the beating or not.

-

**1976, Light's manor  
****Fiona **********'s POV**

I am only eleven years old, but I can see uncle Morinius is upset. My father does not wish me to be with my uncle, but my mother and he is away so she sent me to him. I like uncle Morinius; he is kind and very good at teaching. He is nothing like my father. My mother seemed not to care where I went, just dropped me off in uncle Morinius' arms and walked away. He seemed shocked to suddenly have a child in his hands; he was a busy teacher already. But then he smiled at me and asked me what I wanted for dinner.

One of his students was hurt earlier this week. That is probably what uncle Morinius is angry about. I think his name is Severus, but I am not sure. I do not meet with my uncle often enough to have learned such things. Though I wish I did.

He is not really my uncle, but my mother's cousin. Though I feel like he is my uncle, so I call him that. He whines about it making him sound old, and that spurs me to call him that even more. He says I am more of a Slytherin than what our family is supposed to be. I say back every time that I take after him. That makes him smile every time.

Though now he only looks sad. He is sitting by the hearth, staring into the fire like that is the most interesting thing he has ever seen. I do not dare interrupt him; even though I am his family he will not respond good if you disturb him.

-

**1978, Hogwarts  
****Albus Dumbledore's POV**

The seventh years are now shipped into the dangerous world, and it is very hard for me to watch them leave. Some of them linger, speaking to friends or thanking their teachers. I see Severus looking around, and smile. Soon Morin emerges from the sea of students and it looked like the teen dove for him. He clung onto Morin's arm and whispered something to him. Morin seems to reassure him and leads him away from the crowds.

I know there soon will be no more time to keep Morin away. His hand is itching for the wand and his mind is set on fighting. I do not want him and Tom fight, though; that will tear them both apart even more. When they were young, they thought they would never be separated from each other. But they were, with the mysterious murder of Morin's parents that not been solved even today. Anemone died and Tom disappeared. And I am sure that Morin was not the only one who cried himself to sleep for the years to come. And when Tom did come back, it was only for a few moments with the bitter promise to return and make up for the years they had lost. Somehow, I think that time will never come, not until they are both in death's embrace.

-

**1981, Godric's Hollow  
****Sirius Black's POV**

I cannot believe how much Harry loves Morin; the man does not do anything special. But they are adorable together. Morin seems to like Harry as well, so I see no problem. Harry still likes us, but Morin is so far the only one who the little fellow will always turn to when he needs help.

Lily and James say there is not problem, and that Morin does not live with them when I ask. Just because I happen to come when he was there as well, Lily replies irritably. But I suspect there is something behind that. I visit randomly, and Morin is always there. Lily says he comes a bit more often than me, but I want to hear the truth. I want to know why Morin is protecting them.

-

I never got a chance to know. A few days after that visit, they died. Harry went to the Dursleys and Morin was gone. I was captured, and brought here to Azkaban. But I will get out of here, I swear that. And I will find out the truth.

-

**1981, ?  
****Fiona's mother's POV**

The letter fell from my hands. I covered my head with my hands and took a deep breath. This could not happen; this was not supposed to happen!

I clutch my face as I sit down. My hands eventually leave my face and I look at the letter. My eyes feel moist but I refuse to let my tears fall.

Morin could not be dead.

-

**1981, the remains of Godric's Hollow  
****Albus Dumbledore's POV**

It feels so hard. Here was once a home for two of my students, and their lovely son. And Morin… Morin, he was gone when we came. He tricked Hagrid into believing Voldemort was dead and made him leave. Voldemort was not dead. They fought, and something happened.

The Aurors noticed a huge amount of dark magic concentrated to one spot. The spot that held Morin's blood. I ask which curses were used. They answered only one was used, Crucio, and it was only used once.

I turn away from the house, and meets Fiona's eyes. She is tall and lean now, almost like you Morin, a sturdy sixteen-year old with a stubborn mind. Her eyes are filled with tears. Her lips quiver the tiniest bit and her fists shakes as they hang limply by her sides.

"Uncle Morinius?" she whisper and my heart broke.

He is gone.

Tbc…

* * *

**EDITED 2010-01-20**

Until later,

Ja,

Tiro


	18. Ch 17: Darkness be gone

**Reverse of a Dark Future**

_Current summary: Chapter __Seventeen, Morin gets a pleasant visit during his stay in Light's Manor. Harry opens his mother's album, and reveals something shocking. _

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Harry Potter, JK Rowling does. She is a wonderful author and I love her Harry Potter books. I do not own any of the persons in this fic **except** for Morin Black, Anemone Poena, Fiona and her mother. They're mine, I created them! Oh, and I own the two house-elves Miela and Pather as well.

**Spoilers**: Um, book four and five. Only a bit though in the fourth book, and book five does not happen in this fic except that I mention some things and some creatures you should be aware about. Good if you have read up to book five. Book six or seven does not happen at all.

It's not spoilers, but I will warn you that all of the characters will be a bit different. The most major ones are Snape, Draco, the Weasley twins, Percy and Voldemort. Oh, and Harry will be a bit different, and I warn you it will be a bit mental abuse from the Dursleys directed to our little Harry.

And beware, because I am an evil girl and I have changed Voldemort's past!

Not everything will center on Harry, but most of the time it will together with Morin. Morin is involved in Harry's whole life and they will get close to each other. Some parts will be all Morin, but I will not make this fic so it will only be about Morin, don't worry.

**Pairing****/s**: Voldemort/Morin, a little Draco/Hermione in the end

_Warning for this chapter: Tom and Morin moment. Fluffiness, kisse__s, nudeness and other stuff._

-

**EDITED 2010-01-20**

-

**Chapter Seventeen: Darkness be gone**

Harry was sitting on his bed and going through the pictures in the photo album Draco had given him. The album that belonged to his mother was resting in his lap; he had yet figured out how to open it.

He let his eyes linger on one of the pictures of Morin. The man was standing over a cauldron, making a potion. The liquid in the cauldron was bubbling and the man seemed entirely focused on that. The raven-haired teen smiled a bit and turned the page.

A knock on the door made him look up, startled.

"Yes?"

"Can I come in, kiddo?" he heard Sirius say.

"Yeah, go ahead."

The man came inside and looked at Harry.

"Going through the album again?"

"I like it," Harry protested and Sirius laughed at his pout. "What is it?"

"Morin fire-called," the Black said and sat down. "He didn't feel too good, so he's going to stay home. He thanked you for your gift again."

"Oh," the emerald-eyed teen said and looked down. "I was hoping I would see him again."

"Come on, you'll see him in school soon enough," Sirius said. "He needs his rest."

"I guess you're right…"

-

Morin looked around the living room before falling down in the nearest armchair with a sigh. He did not have energy to go to Sahara and its dry air, so he decided to stay in Light's Manor for the rest of the holiday. It would make Miela and Pather happy.

"Master?"

He looked up and turned around in the armchair he was seated in. Miela stood by the doorway, looking at him with her hands clasped together.

"What does master wishes for dinner?"

"Something light," he answered. "And no wine; I have a headache."

"Master wishes for a potion for headache?" Miela said worriedly.

"Yes," he answered and slumped back in the armchair. He heard Miela disappear and she reappeared a little while later with a bottle in her hand. He took it from the house-elf and thanked it. Miela nodded and went to prepare his dinner.

Morin downed the potion and put the bottle on the table. His eyelids felt heavy, and his head was pounding. He let the potion work and his hand fell down from his chin onto the arm of the chair. His eyes soon slid close. He felt so tired, and did not even notice as Pather came in and spread a quilt over him.

-

Voldemort was frantic. His followers avoided him as much as they could, and not even Nagini could calm him down. He raged around the house, screaming at everyone he saw and making them run from him in terror. But the scariest part was that he was not using Crucio on anyone. Normally his followers would have appreciated it, but now it was just scary seeing him rampaging around, looking like a crazy man. Every time the word "Crucio" was about to leave his lips he seemed to twist in agony before turning and walking away.

Truth to be told, every time since that fight in the Ministry the only thing Voldemort could see when he was going to cast Crucio was the screaming Morin. He had tortured the only person he loved, made him insane. Morin was good at hiding it, was good at playing normal but the Dark Lord had seen the cracks. When they had made love during Morin's birthday, the raven-haired man had acted more violently than before. His eyes had lit up with insanity and he had tried to hurt himself, only to return to normal a few moments after that. The scene had frightened Voldemort more than he would admit.

Voldemort started pacing again, ignoring Nagini's reassuring hissing. He was fingering on his wand, twisting it between his hands while looking at the hearth. Finally he could not hold himself anymore and stepped forward to the fire-place. He threw some Floo-powder in it and said as he stepped in:

"Light's Manor."

-

When he came inside the living room, the first thing Voldemort noticed was the sleeping Morin. He pocketed his wand and stepped up slowly to the sleeping man. He reached out and touched the raven-haired man's cheek gently. Miela suddenly came in and Voldemort shushed her. She took a step in and said hesitantly:

"Mister Tom?"

"Yes, it's me," he said quietly and removed his hand from Morin's cheek. "I apologize for barging in, but I wanted to see Morin."

"Master Morin is sleeping, but I think master will not mind Mister Tom staying," the house-elf said. "Would Mister Tom stay for dinner?"

"I would love to."

The house-elf disappeared and Voldemort stepped up to Morin.

"Hello, Tom," the raven-haired man said weakly.

The Dark Lord stood still.

"What, you talk to Miela but not me?" Morin said and opened his eyes. They were bloodshot and Voldemort dropped to his knees in front of him, his red eyes glazed slightly over in guilt.

"You blood vessels are destroyed in your eyes," the dark wizard said and laid his hand on Morin's arm.

"I'm dying, Tom," Morin whispered. "I can feel it, the light leaving me. I feel so weak and helpless…"

As he spoke, blood began dribbling out of his mouth. Voldemort called on Miela, who only needed to look at Morin before rushing off to get his potion. The Dark Lord lifted Morin up a bit so he could ease down in the big armchair as well. He let Morin rest his back to his chest and embraced him, trying to ease the coughing that had started. The house-elf came back and gave Voldemort a bottle, which the Dark Lord uncorked and made Morin swallow it. It took a few minutes before it started to work, but the blood stopped coming and the emerald-eyed man relaxed. The dark wizard used this time to wipe the blood away from the emerald-eyed man's face.

"I think dinner should wait," Voldemort told the house-elf. "I'll give him a nutrient potion."

"Miela will get it!"

She disappeared again and the Dark Lord used this time to get Morin up and in his arms. The house-elf reappeared and followed the man as he went up the stairs with Morin in his arms. They came to Morin's bedroom and Miela gave Voldemort the potion. She then disappeared, promising they would not be bothered. Voldemort gave Morin the potion directly, discarded the bottle onto the floor before stepping into the room and laying down Morin onto the four-poster bed. He moaned and looked up at Voldemort. He saw the pain in the emerald eyes and bent down, wincing slightly as his bones creaked. He rested his forehead against Morin's and said:

"I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what?" the raven-haired man asked.

"Everything. All I did was making you feel pain," Voldemort whispered.

Morin brought his arms up and let his hands rest on the small of the Dark Lord's back.

"I'm not feeling pain right now," he said to the dark wizard. "All I'm feeling is happiness."

"Why?"

"Because you are with me, Tom."

Voldemort looked at him and then slowly lay down. He turned Morin so the man was resting on him while the raven-haired man shrugged off his robe and threw it aside. He opened Voldemort's robe and stroke his hands over the thin chest. Voldemort growled lightly and pulled Morin down for a kiss. The emerald-eyed man gasped into the other man's mouth as Voldemort pressed their hips together. The Dark Lord rolled around so that Morin was trapped underneath him, chuckling into Morin's mouth as the man made a noise of complaint. The raven-haired man's legs came to rest around Voldemort's hips though, his chest heaving and he licked his lips. Voldemort stroke the pale cheek and smiled before starting unbuttoning the smaller man's shirt.

"Tom," Morin moaned.

"Be patient, love," Voldemort whispered against the emerald-eyed man's lips. Once he finished he let one hand travel back along Morin's leg, stroking the thigh through the fabric. Morin whimpered and moved to suck at Voldemort's neck, all sense going out the window.

While Morin was busy with that, the Dark Lord concentrated on undressing his lover. After all those years they had been separated, Voldemort could never shake off that they were not lovers. He saw only Morin as his lover, always had and always would.

The emerald-eyed man realized a little while later that Voldemort had shifted and dragged his pants off. He was practically naked underneath the Dark Lord, and the thought made him groan. Voldemort smiled down at him and covered the naked body with his own, before gently guiding the legs up again. Morin happily complied, his hands travelling down and pressing Voldemort down to him. Voldemort covered Morin's mouth, and sucked gently on the emerald-eyed man's tongue. He felt the smaller man shiver against him, something he had not done even on Halloween. He released Morin's mouth and whispered:

"You want me to take you?"

Morin whimpered, rolling his hips. The Dark Lord groaned but continued with a low voice:

"You need me?"

Morin was shaking, gripping Voldemort's shoulders before moving them to embrace the torso.

"I want to hear you say it, love," the dark wizard said and licked a trail along the raven-haired man's jawline.

"Yes," Morin got out. "Please, Tom."

Voldemort smiled, feeling much better as he moved to nuzzle Morin's neck.

"As you wish," he whispered, pulling one of Morin's legs over his shoulder.

-

Harry was cleaning his room when he accidentally hit a vase and it fell to the ground.

"Ah, shit," he mumbled and bent down to get the shards up. He could ask Sirius or Remus to fix it. "Ow!"

He drew his hand back, and glared at the pieces. He then turned his attention to his hand that was bleeding heavily. He went over to his bed to get something to apply pressure when the blood fell onto Lily's album. He moved to wipe it away when the lock clicked and he stared at it. With a shaking hand, he reached out and flipped it open. His mother had used a blood seal to a normal album? His hand's throbbing brought him back to the room and he realized it was really hurting. He took a cloth, wrapped it around his hand and went outside.

"Sirius? Remus?"

The werewolf came up the stairs after a little while, looking puzzled. His eyes widened as he saw the blood dripping from the cloth to the floor. Harry tried to stop it without success.

"I cut myself on a broken vase," Harry said and applied some more pressure that made him wince a bit. "Help me?"

Remus came up, took out his wand while removing the cloth and took a look at the cut. He made a small movement and the raven-haired teen watched the wound knit itself together.

"Thanks," Harry said with a sheepish grin.

"What were you doing?"

"Cleaning."

"Cleaning? All the other kids are outside," Remus said with a frown.

"I have a bit of a cold, according to Sirius, and he won't let me out," the teen answered.

Remus shook his head, and muttered something about 'overprotective godfathers' before warning Harry to be more careful and then walking down to find Sirius.

Harry almost ran back to his room, shut the door and sat down by the album. He could not believe his mother had put a blood-seal on it. He picked it up and just looked at it for a minute before starting to look through it. On the first page it stood 'LILY' with bold, silver letters. The pages were black and the teen wondered what she had put in this. When he turned the page he got the shock of his life.

It was a picture of Morin. It was a Muggle picture as well and he was sitting in the shadows. Half of his face was not visible and his raven hair spilled over his shoulders. The green eyes seemed enchanting even on the black and white picture. Harry turned his attention to the other pictures, speechless. They were all of Morin in different poses, on purpose or not. He looked at one in awe; the man was standing by a table, apparently arranging some roses. He was holding a rose in his delicate hands close to his face, his eyes clouded as he seemed to remember something. Underneath the pictures his mother had written small notes. Suddenly Harry remembered something Remus had told him a while ago:

"_Your mother loved to take pictures, Muggle pictures. She found magical pictures funny, but she said the frozen pictures are the most beautiful ones. She especially liked taking portraits of people. She said every picture was __an image of that person's personality."_

Harry looked through the pictures until he came to the middle. They had all been of Morin, dates varied from early 1980 to 1981. When he reached the middle, he got another chock. It was a picture of Sirius and himself as a small infant, with Morin sitting next to them reading out loud from a small book. He saw his own eyes were concentrated on Morin while Sirius was smiling down at him.

The teen stared at it for a long time. Morin… Morin knew him from before?

-

Voldemort looked at the sleeping Morin, one hand stroking the man's arm. He leaned in closer and said:

"Morin, wake up."

The raven-haired man groaned but his eyes fluttered open and he looked at the Dark Lord.

"I'm feeling torn apart," Voldemort said. "Is it because you have destroyed my Horcruxes?"

"… Probably," Morin said slowly. He had destroyed everyone except for Nagini and the part inside Harry just a few weeks ago. "Do you hate me for that?"

"I can't feel any hatred, despite knowing you may have destroyed a part of me," the dark wizard said, pulling his lover close. Morin stilled. 'May have?' Wait, could it mean…? "I can't use Crucio anymore."

Voldemort's words startled him out from his thoughts, and he replied almost absently:

"Why not?"

"I'm reminded of you. The way I hurt you. The way I destroyed you."

They stared at each other for a while, before Voldemort pressed his lips to Morin's. The raven-haired man groaned before throwing a leg over Voldemort's hip and dragging their lower bodies closer. The Dark Lord gripped his bottom and Morin moaned into the other man's mouth.

"Let me enjoy you once more," the Dark Lord whispered.

Somehow, they both knew that their time together was running out unless they took action. Morin let his tears fall, broke their kiss and pressed his head against Voldemort's chest.

"Please," he sobbed. "Please, kill me!"

The man stared at him as if he had declared he was best friend with Fudge (which he certainly was not).

"I can't kill you!" Voldemort said fiercely, pulling back Morin so they could look at each other. "And even if I could, I would never forgive myself!"

"I can't live like this, torn in between!" the emerald-eyed man said. "You're killing me now, only in a different way!"

Voldemort looked at Morin for a long time, then gently shushed him and stroke away the tears.

"I already know of the Horcrux inside Harry Potter," Voldemort said and Morin froze. He looked into the emerald eyes and answered the unsaid question; "I could feel it. How do I remove it?"

"Why do you ask?"

"I can take us far away from here," Voldemort said. "My soul maybe will heal. I've never known what will happen to the soul in a Horcrux when it's destroyed. I can be Tom again; I can feel my old self coming back. I want to be simple Tom again, with you. We can bring Anemone with us."

Morin looked at the Dark Lord with wide eyes. Could they really succeed…?

"Yes," he found himself whispering, burrowing his head into Voldemort's chest. "Please, take us far away."

It would be better for everyone.

-

The holidays were over and soon Harry found himself sitting in the Great Hall for the welcoming feast, the day before the classes would begin anew. Morin was sitting on his usual place, but he was spaced out. While he did not look like he was about to keel over and die, he certainly looked worn.

"He doesn't look too good," Hermione whispered to him as she was looking at the DADA teacher as well.

"I know," Harry replied.

Ron rubbed his chest uncomfortably. Anemone was stirring, and it hurt. She was trying to get out again.

"Ron, you alright?"

He looked up at George, who had been asking, and nodded absently. Fred leaned closer and said:

"Is it her again?"

He nodded again and continued to eat.

"What does she want?" the bushy-haired girl said.

"She wants to help Morin," Ron answered shortly. "She's trying to get out for that purpose, but that spell Morin put is too strong."

Morin had after that incident put a spell on the redhead so she could not come and go as she wanted. Though she seemed determined to get it off her so she could get out. Suddenly, as Ron thought he was going to scream out in pain, she stopped and disappeared inside again. He looked up at the Head Table and saw Morin look at him. The man smiled a bit and then turned as Remus asked him something. Ron shrugged, not caring what Morin did as long as it made her disappear, and began eating again.

-

Time went quickly, changing the snow season to spring without any further incidents. Students allowed themselves to be happy and not thinking too much of Voldemort and his raging Death Eaters. Speaking about Voldemort, the man had been oddly silent and passive for a while. Attacks hardly occurred anymore, like Voldemort had suddenly disappeared. Morin knew better than that; the Dark Lord was busy setting his soul back together. He sent his Death Eaters out on random raids, just to get them away from the manor.

Morin also knew he was busy with another thing, and while he knew he should not place too much hope on that he secretly hoped it would work.

It was late on April day when Morin fell down on his bed, kicking off his boots carelessly as he went. His body hurt, his bones creaked whenever he moved and he felt like shit. Morin laid an arm over his eyes and stretched his sore body. He felt cold and lifeless, but worse part was that he felt useless. He probably would not be able to do anything soon.

He had only thought that, when he began to cough. Blood covered his hands and he tried to get up. He gripped the bed as the room spun around and he fell to the floor in a boneless heap.

-

"He's already in a coma, Albus."

Dumbledore let himself sink down on a chair, staring at Morin as he did. The raven-haired man's face was white, his lips slightly blue and the chest hardly rose with each breath. He looked like he was dead already.

"How long until he dies?" the headmaster asked.

"Depends all on him," Madam Pomfrey said, and then turned to the group standing behind her. "I'm sorry, but not even the best healer can do anything for him now."

Harry looked at his teacher with tears burning behind his eyelids. Hermione had already broken down crying, and Draco's eyes were shining with tears as he held the girl tightly in his arms. Hermione was crying on his shoulder, gripping his robes. The twins seemed speechless and Ron was holding his chest hard.

"Is the spell disappearing?" the medic witch said worriedly.

"No," the redhead said. "I can't feel her anymore."

He frowned but suddenly his eyes went wide. His face paled and something seemed to take his breath out. The twins caught him as he fell. They gathered around him worriedly. Ron looked up at them and said:

"She… she's gone."

Tbc…

* * *

**EDITED 2010-01-20**

Until later,

Ja,

Tiro


	19. Ch 18: 'Till Death Do Us Apart

**Reverse of a Dark Future**

_Current summary: Chapter __Eighteen, the past of Morin Black as a student at Hogwarts. _

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Harry Potter, JK Rowling does. She is a wonderful author and I love her Harry Potter books. I do not own any of the persons in this fic **except** for Morin Black, Anemone Poena, Fiona and her mother. They're mine, I created them! Oh, and I own the two house-elves Miela and Pather as well.

**Spoilers**: Um, book four and five. Only a bit though in the fourth book, and book five does not happen in this fic except that I mention some things and some creatures you should be aware about. Good if you have read up to book five. Book six or seven does not happen at all.

It's not spoilers, but I will warn you that all of the characters will be a bit different. The most major ones are Snape, Draco, the Weasley twins, Percy and Voldemort. Oh, and Harry will be a bit different, and I warn you it will be a bit mental abuse from the Dursleys directed to our little Harry.

And beware, because I am an evil girl and I have changed Voldemort's past!

Not everything will center on Harry, but most of the time it will together with Morin. Morin is involved in Harry's whole life and they will get close to each other. Some parts will be all Morin, but I will not make this fic so it will only be about Morin, don't worry.

**Pairings**: Voldemort(Tom)/Morin

_Warning for this chapter: Tom and Morin__. Almost this entire chapter will be flashbacks. _

-

**EDITED 2010-01-20**

-

**Chapter Eighteen: 'Till Death Do Us Apart**

Morin honestly thought tears would fall once he fell onto the bed in his new dorm with his new classmates. But they never came. Not even as they burned behind his eyelids did they fall. He turned to look at the ceiling and sighed. This was the beginning of his education, and he was already worrying where he would spend his summer.

Morin punched the pillow in a sudden fit of rage. He was rarely angry, rarely sad, rarely… anything. He sighed yet again and closed his eyes. No idea to be so upset about it; he had classes to worry about.

He did not notice the slender boy with brown hair and blue eyes watch him. Tom blinked as he saw Morin settle down, wondering why the boy was so inexpressive.

-

Breakfast was spent just like Morin had spent breakfast always: quietly and alone. There was chattering students all around him, but he sat quiet and just ate his breakfast. Time-tables were passed out, and he spoke for the first time when he thanked his Head of House. He cringed as he heard his small whisper to voice; he had to train on that.

He never noticed Tom watching him as he checked his time-table. Some Slytherins around him groaned and complained over their schedules, but Morin just complained in his head and went out. He did not like crowds, and preferred the stillness of the corridors. He began tracking down where his first lesson was supposed to be, stopping to ask the portraits. Just like he always did; he had spoken more to portraits and house-elves than he had to his parents.

-

The first year went by quickly, and Tom soon introduced himself to Morin. The raven-haired boy apparently was shocked that anyone wanted to talk to him; he had been so alone before he never cared that he missed friends in his own age. He was sure he would never have friends in his own age, but fate had another surprise for him. Soon he got used to walk the corridors with the other boy, used to sit with someone when eating and actually talking. Tom complained he had a raspy voice, but Morin had just answered he never had any use of it before. The boy had looked at him in shock, but the raven-haired one had never noticed. He was too busy trying to eat; he was sick at looking so small, sick at having such a weak body.

At the end of the first year, Morin already had a place to stay; the noble Blacks. They did not know who he really was, and therefore invited him after talking to the headmaster. Walburga, their daughter, was fluttering with her eyelashes at him during the last dinner before they were going home from school.

"She's staring," Tom said with a grin to the other boy.

"I can feel it," Morin muttered and looked away from her. "Merlin, I'm going to die before the summer is over."

"Lucky you; I have to go back to an orphanage," Tom said bitterly and stabbed a piece of chicken. "I hate that place."

Morin looked at him and said:

"It's going to be fine. They don't dare do anything, right?"

"The glares are enough," the brunette said. "They are enough, and I hate them."

Morin was not good at comforting people, so he decided to keep silent. After all, Tom said he was a bit too insensitive for things like this.

-

The second year came, and Morin was almost asleep as he rode on the train. Walburga, he decided, was a foolish girl.

"Morin!"

He turned and saw Tom. The boy had grown a bit, while Morin had not changed much.

"Hi," Morin said to him.

"Your voice is raspy again," Tom said with a frown.

"I don't like speaking," the emerald-eyed boy said and looked outside.

"Were the Blacks okay?"

"They were nice enough. I'm going back there until I'm seventeen."

"I saw Walburga," Tom said with a grin and Morin groaned. "She seems love struck."

"The only thing I couldn't stand with there was her," the raven-haired boy said and rubbed his forehead. "She's so damn annoying!"

"Hey, hey ease up that throat of yours before starting to scream."

Morin coughed a bit and did realize his throat was raw. Tom rolled his eyes and conjured a glass of water, a trick he had learnt at the end of the first year. The raven-haired boy sipped it gratefully and tried speaking again. Suddenly there was a knock on the door.

"It's open!" Tom called out.

A girl with blue eyes and two braids falling down her shoulders peeped inside.

"Tom and Morin, right?" she said. "I'm your housemate Anemone. Can I sit with you guys?"

-

Second year came and passed, bringing Anemone, Tom and Morin closer to each other. They began to become known as the Slytherin Trio, never apart from each other when they were outside the Slytherin rooms.

"Have you heard the news, Anemone?" Tom asked, three days away from the ending feast and when they would go home.

"What news?" the girl replied.

"One from the Gryffindor gang has a crush on you."

She spluttered out the pumpkin juice she was drinking onto the ground while Morin raised an eyebrow at her. She whipped her head towards Tom and said:

"What?!"

"One from the Gryffindor gang has a crush on you," the brown-haired boy said calmly. "I caught him staring at you and I told him you weren't interested."

"Damn straight I'm not…"

"However, he was quite persistent," Tom continued.

"He refused to believe Tom," Morin now spoke, looking up from his book. "He tried to tell us off, saying Slytherin brats would not stay in his way."

"I am a Slytherin," Anemone said, pointing at her chest.

"Well, he seemed to have forgotten that fact for a moment or two," the raven-haired boy spoke. "Anyway, he told us to sod off."

"What?! Who was it; he's dead!"

"He's in the Infirmary," Tom said and the girl's mouth fell open. "It was an accident."

Morin snorted.

"I never meant to throw that curse on him," Tom continued. "He won't be able to get up for a while."

"You're evil," Anemone said with a smile.

"Nonsense," Tom said and Morin snorted again. He turned towards the raven-haired boy and continued, "I'm not evil!"

"I believe that whenever I want to," Morin said, and soon vanished into his reading.

-

"What happened to you?"

Morin looked tiredly at Tom and Anemone, who were both staring at him. That meant the bruise on his cheek was still there. Damn.

"Stuff," he said and waved his hand.

"You haven't written anything on the whole summer!" Anemone said. "Did something happen?"

"Walburga's parents didn't want me to write," Morin said. "They said you two weren't good for me, Walburga was the best for me, bla, bla, bla…"

"What did you do?"

"Before I left I threatened to hurt them really bad if they didn't allow me to write," Morin said with a shrug. "Worse case scenario, I'll have to beg the headmaster to place me somewhere else."

"Why didn't they want you to be with us?" Tom said.

"Because they are idiots," Morin said. "Next time they say something like that, I'll kill them."

Tom and Anemone had the dreading feeling that he was not joking.

-

Their innocence came to stop one day in their fourth year. Tom had just woken up along with two other boys sharing his dorm, but Morin was still asleep. Since they had different classes now, Tom assumed the raven-haired teen did not have class until later.

However, said teen moved as the other three were preparing themselves for the day.

"Morin?" Tom asked. "You got a class in the morning or what?"

The teen did not answer. He seemed frozen, even paralyzed as he stared at his hands in shock. Tom could not see why he did so and said:

"If you have a class in the morning, you better hurry up."

"Tom…"

Morin's voice sounded weak.

"What's wrong, Morin?"

The emerald-eyed teen got up and the brown-haired teen gasped. The other two, Parkinson and Crabbe, turned around to look as well. Their mouths fell open.

Blood was dribbling down Morin's mouth, his nose and even from his ears. His eyes were bloodshot and the raven-haired teen looked up at his friend. He coughed and blood splattered down on the crispy white sheets. He held his hands underneath his face, trying to stop the blood from falling down on the sheets but the crimson drops fell between his fingers and he whispered:

"Tom, I don't feel so good…"

-

"What do you mean dying?!"

Anemone's face was furious, but was destroyed by the tears falling from her eyes. Tom kept staring at the wall and repeated tonelessly:

"Madam Pomfrey said we couldn't do anything but give him Blood-replenishing potions. The illness is incurable."

Anemone sat down on the bed, and said:

"How long?"

"Maybe a year," Tom whispered back. "Anemone, he's dying… I can't let him die."

"We won't let him," Anemone said, determination written on her face. "Mum is an excellent Potions Mistress; I'll ask her of help. We will save Morin."

-

Albus Dumbledore watched as Tom spoke softly to Morin, who smiled at the teen and got his hand up to stroke away from errant strands of hair from the brown-haired teen's face. The slim hand was almost white because of blood loss and was shaking slightly, but the Transfiguration teacher sighed in contentment as he saw Tom take the hand and gently rub it between his own. He was so glad that that both Tom and Morin had learned how to smile, how to laugh and how to be in love. He just hoped that their love would not be shattered already; Tom would never survive it.

-

Tom rubbed Morin's pale face lovingly, chuckling as said teen yawned and blinked his eyes open.

"What?" the raven-haired teen groaned out.

"Time for your potion."

Morin gagged as he saw the bottle but Tom's look made him go still. He took the vial and drank it. Tom handed him another vial moments later and Morin downed it as well.

"I want to go back to the dorm," Morin whined. "I'm fine."

"No, you're not fine!" Tom snapped. "You are deathly ill, Morin, and you have to take these potions for a very long time."

"For how long? No one has even told me what's causing this."

"You have to keep on with these, until a cure is found."

"There is no cure?!" Morin almost shouted and sat up too quickly. He moaned of pain as his mind swam and he let Tom carefully lower him down onto the bed again. "Please, I feel so useless here… do something, Tom."

The brown-haired teen gently lowered himself onto the bed and rubbed Morin's arms gently. He let his lips rest against Morin's cheek, and the raven-haired teen turned so their mouths met. They kissed each other softly and Morin moved to pull himself flush against Tom.

"I love you so much," Tom whispered. "I won't let you die…"

"Promise?"

"Promise."

-

To all of the teachers', nurses' and healers' surprises, Morin lived. He was as lively as ever, only needing to take Blood-replenishing once a week. The illness brought the Slytherin Trio even closer to each other and made them realize that they needed to act if Morin was to survive.

While no one else knew, Tom and Anemone had taken Anemone's mother to help when Morin was diagnosed and she had made a potion that would help him. It was not permanent but it would give him at least a few more years. Tom had begun researching of how the raven-haired teen he had come to love could survive. His only answer was almost devastating because of the potion's unstableness and danger.

Never the less, he began working on modifying the Immortality Potion so it would fit Morin perfectly.

-

Morin surprised everyone again by finishing school two years ahead of everyone else. He was still thin, and still pale but his eyes were shining with life and only underneath many layers laid the ever-present pain. The only ones who knew about it were Tom and Anemone.

One day at the end of the fifth year Tom and Morin was lying on bed, arms wrapped around each other. The raven-haired teen was resting his head against Tom's chest, his energy gone for once. He was lying almost boneless on his lover but the brown-haired Prefect could not find anything to complain about. Tom decided this was the time.

"Morin?"

"Yeah?"

"I found out who my parents were."

The teen looked up at Tom with wide eyes. He continued tonelessly:

"My mother was a Gaunt, the last living descendants to Salazar Slytherin. Her name was Merope and almost like a Squib. My father was a Muggle; Tom Riddle Senior."

Morin carefully moved and Tom looked at him briefly and said:

"My mother was abandoned by my father. He had been lured with Love Potion. She died shortly after giving me my name; Tom after my father and Marvolo after my mother's father. And she told the nurses to give me my father's family name, Riddle. And then she died."

"If I had a way to bring the dead back," Morin began, "I would bring your mother back just to kill her."

The brown-haired teen looked at his lover in surprise.

"What? She left you alone in a world where no one understood you!" Morin said. "She deserves the pain I could give her!"

Tom looked at the emerald-eyed teen for a long while, before pulling him flush against him.

"Tom?"

"Thank you," the teen said in response. "No one has every cared about me like that."

"Be ready for more of that," Morin replied with a grin.

-

Tom ran into the dorm and made Morin wake up, startled. He hauled the confused teen up from the warm bed and said:

"Come on, we're going to the library!"

"Wha…?"

"Me and Anemone are gonna turn professor Dumbledore's hair blue!" Tom said. "Madam Falena is going to be convinced we're doing homework there if you are with us!"

Morin rubbed his eyes and gritted out:

"I. Want. To. Sleep. Now. Tom."

"Sleep? Sorry love, but no!"

Morin was about to argue when Tom kissed him deeply, making him almost melt. Falling back on the bed, he felt his pyjama pants being removed and looked up at Tom.

"The library?" he asked softly before pressing a kiss to Tom's jaw. "Weren't you and Anemone…?"

"She can wait for a few minutes," the teen whispered. "I need you, just a little bit."

Morin allowed himself to be turned to his stomach and sighed softly, closing his eyes and allowing Tom inside of him, smiling as he heard the taller of the two moan quietly.

Gripping the bed-sheets he moaned at the sheer love and pleasure that surrounded his entire being, managed to rise himself up on his hands and knees and pressing his back to Tom's chest.

"Tom," he gasped. "Sweet lord, please, love… my love…"

The brown-haired teen nodded, understood and moments later Morin's vision blackened for a moment and he fell down on the bed. His lover moved out and cast a cleaning spell over himself before helping him clean off and dress him in the new set of black robes he and Anemone had given the emerald-eyed teen this Christmas. Since Morin had finished school, he had not been forced to wear school-clothes even if he wanted to be at lessons.

Tom gently brushed Morin's hair, a task he had been doing for close a year now and the raven-haired teen did not have it in him to not want that. They kissed softly and Tom steered him to the common room. Anemone looked up from the book as they came in, lips still locked with each other.

"Alright, love-birds, time out."

They separated and looked at the grinning girl. Morin pressed his still sleep-warm body against Tom's and yawned.

"You know it makes me sleepy when you do it just after I've woken up," he whined to the taller teen.

"Sorry love, but I couldn't resist," Tom replied. "You looked so cute at that moment so I couldn't let the opportunity pass."

"I don't even want to hear," Anemone said. "Shall we go then?"

At dinner, when the laughter was at the most, Tom leaned over to his lover and said:

"Was it worth it?"

Morin looked at Dumbledore's now bright, blue hair while the Transfiguration teacher was laughing himself and smiled.

"Yeah," he said. "It was worth it. How about pink with green highlights next time?"

-

All good times have its ends. All too soon they finished their education and was about to leave Hogwarts. Anemone stood silently on the stairs, her brown hair carefully braided into her usual two braids and her eyes deep as a raging ocean.

"What's wrong?"

She turned at Tom's voice and looked at the two. Morin was holding Tom's hand and looked at her as well.

"Well, well, well, I've been waiting for this…"

They all turned and looked at Dumbledore.

"Professor, not a camera!" Anemone said laughing.

"Come on now!" the wizard said cheerfully. "Stand together and look proud!"

Even Tom laughed at the man, but they complied. Anemone in the middle, Morin on her left and Tom on her right. She was still short while Tom had grown a lot. Morin was still a head shorter than Tom though.

"Smile now!"

"Wait, are you taking a Muggle picture?" Tom asked in surprise.

"One Muggle and one magical," Dumbledore replied. "Stand still!"

A few moments later, Dumbledore had his pictures and happily shook their hands.

"Now be careful the three of you," he said. "I know you will take care of each other, but I want to hear it."

"Yes, we will be careful," Anemone said.

"We will take care of Morin," Tom continued.

"And I will take my potions," Morin finished.

"Good. Now I need to go, but good luck and have a good life."

Dumbledore did not know back then how wrong he was.

-

"Well…"

Anemone looked at the two of them.

"We have to separate here," Tom said quietly, squeezing Morin's hand. "I have things to do and I don't want to involve you."

"I have to get a place and earn some money," Morin muttered.

"My parents told me to come home," the girl said. They all looked sadly at each other, until she piped up, "Hey! How about we make an oath?"

"An oath?" the two men said.

"Yeah, an oath!"

They shrugged and Anemone held up her hand. They made the same gesture, intertwining their hands with each other.

"I, Anemone Poena, swear on my magic that I will do anything in my power to protect my friends."

"I, Tom Riddle, swear on my magic and my life I will make sure no ones harms my loved ones."

"I, Morin Black, swear on my magic and my life I will always protect my loved ones, and take their secrets to my grave."

Their magic swirled up violently before gradually settling down. Anemone continued:

"We three will forever be one, linked to each other."

"We shall never betray another's trust," Tom continued.

"And we will forever be united, in this world or the next," Morin finished.

Anemone smiled and said:

"There is no such thing as 'till death do us apart for the three of us. Ever."

She was wrong.

Tbc…

* * *

**EDITED 2010-01-20**

Chapter nineteen: How Tom and Anemone killed Morin's parents, and the death of Anemone that finally separates them. This chapter will probably be short as well. You will get to know who Morin's parents are! Be in for a surprise!

Until later,

Ja,

Tiro


	20. Ch 19: The Beginning of The End

**Reverse of a Dark Future**

_Current summary: Chapter __Nineteen. Two accidents; one welcomed and one that destroyed two lives forever. _

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Harry Potter, JK Rowling does. She is a wonderful author and I love her Harry Potter books. I do not own any of the persons in this fic **except** for Morin Black, Anemone Poena, Fiona and her mother. They're mine, I created them! Oh, and I own the two house-elves Miela and Pather as well.

**Spoilers**: Um, book four and five. Only a bit though in the fourth book, and book five does not happen in this fic except that I mention some things and some creatures you should be aware about. Good if you have read up to book five. Book six or seven does not happen at all.

It's not spoilers, but I will warn you that all of the characters will be a bit different. The most major ones are Snape, Draco, the Weasley twins, Percy and Voldemort. Oh, and Harry will be a bit different, and I warn you it will be a bit mental abuse from the Dursleys directed to our little Harry.

And beware, because I am an evil girl and I have changed Voldemort's past!

Not everything will center on Harry, but most of the time it will together with Morin. Morin is involved in Harry's whole life and they will get close to each other. Some parts will be all Morin, but I will not make this fic so it will only be about Morin, don't worry.

**Pairings**: Voldemort(Tom)/Morin

_Warning for this chapter:__ A bit of angst, a little blood. _

-

**EDITED 2010-01-20**

-

**Chapter Nineteen: The ****Beginning of the End**

It was a quiet night when two figures slowly stepped up to the magnificent Light Manor. Or its original name, Gryffindor Manor. Inside was the Gryffindor couple, Moriana and Artemis Gryffindor. They liked to pretend they had no child. However, they did have one. He was nineteen, though they had no idea where he was.

Not that they cared. They wanted nothing to do with Morin Black at all. He had betrayed them, his own parents, the moment the Sorting Hat screamed out Slytherin. Moriana was a proud woman, though a bit out of it, and would have no son in Slytherin. Artemis just went with her; his work took up more of his time.

And yet, he had signed up Morin as lone successor to everything they owned in case they would die. Why would many of their friends wonder. Artemis himself thought that was the least they owned their son. Despite his busy appearance, Artemis knew that both he and Moriana had a part of how Morin turned out to be; something akin to a monster. Artemis had little experience in dealing with emotions; it was easier to just give Morin their things as a sign of apology. He wondered if his son would realize it.

The knock on the door made his head pound even more. However, as the door exploded he came to his feet, wand ready in his hand.

He ran out to the hall and saw two people standing there, one with the wand outstretched. He had no idea who they were.

"He looks a bit like Morin," one of them, a female voice, said.

"Yes," a deep male voice replied. "But I do think Morin takes after a lot from his mother."

Artemis frowned and settled into a fighting stance. He had no time to wonder who they were, if they knew Morin, if they had hurt his son, or if they did this on his orders. If they had… Artemis would not be completely surprised.

"You kill the mother," the male voice said. "I'll take care of him. Make sure she feels pain."

"Anything for Morin," the female said.

That was the first and last time Artemis Gryffindor, father to Morinius Artemis Gryffindor, also known as Morin Black, met Tom Riddle and Anemone Poena.

-

Tom carefully completed the spell and all traces of their magic vanished. Anemone stepped up and looked around.

"Looks perfect doesn't it?" she said. "I wonder if Morin will like it."

"I know he will," Tom said and looked around at the blood splattered on the walls. "He said he wanted his parents to die painfully so they could feel his pain."

-

Morin was tired, and he tried to ignore the screaming around him. The will of Artemis and Moriana Gryffindor had been read, and he had been given everything. And with everything, it truly was everything. So it was only natural that the family was going to argue about that. He saw his aunt trying to say it was fake, the will had to be fake! The goblin refused to let them near the will, and beckoned him over.

Morin stood up and silence rung out in the room. They all watched the pale-faced teen, now man and sole heir to the Gryffindor fortune, step forward. He did not look healthy at all and he feared he would throw up his breakfast soon. The illness was getting worse.

"Sign here, Mr Black," the goblin said. "This will not be known to anyone else besides the people in this room."

The raven-haired man nodded and scratched down his name. The screaming began once more. Morin sighed deeply, and decided enough was enough.

"Now this is finished," he said to the goblin, "may I leave? I will come back later to see what my father and mother had."

The goblin nodded and he walked towards the door.

"Not so fast, Morinius!" his aunt yelled. "This is not over! My sister hates you, so why did she even agree to let you have one single Knut, huh?!"

"I do not understand my mother's logic, aunt," Morin said indifferently. "Nor do I have the patience to listen to your shrill voice nagging at me. Leave me alone, or else you will find yourself facing my wrath."

He was gone in the next moment, leaving a room of speechless people behind. They had known him as a quiet child, never questioning, never rising attention, never noticed by anything or anyone. You would have noticed a ghost better than Morinius. Now they realized what he had become; an emotionless young man, with a broken heart and destroyed life. And it was their fault.

-

The death was unexpected, and hurt Morin more than he cared to admit. They said they found her in her room, bathing in blood. Her deep eyes had been open but with no flame in the depths. Her limbs were cold and unresponsive, and she was not going to wake up ever again.

It surprised Morin, how easily they had joked about death in school. Anemone had always said no one could kill but herself. And in a way, she had been right. Right in a way Morin did not want her to, but there was nothing he could do about that.

The funeral was a quiet one, but it was afterward when Tom and Morin was alone that the silence was shattered.

"Why did you let her?" The raven-haired man cursed his small voice.

"I didn't," Tom replied. "She just did it."

"You could've stopped her," Morin continued.

"Don't be ridiculous," the brown-haired man snapped.

"You could have," Morin said softly and looked at his lover. "But you wanted her to die."

Tom hit him so hard he fell to the ground.

"I wanted her dead?! Are you crazy?! I loved Anemone as my own sister!"

"But you let her die," the emerald-eyed man said, blood dribbling out from his mouth as he stood up.

"Shut up! She was dead before I had time to act! There was nothing I could do!"

Morin cried out in pain as Tom's fist connected with his stomach. But the rare fit of anger overcame him and he hit Tom back. The brown-haired man looked at him in surprise before growling and jumping on him again. Blows, punches and kicks were swiftly delivered to one another, and neither of them backed down. Finally Tom came with a hit that truly struck Morin's weakness. Blood gushed out from his mouth, the sorrow taking out its rights. Tom stopped in terror as Morin had the worst attack ever.

Blood poured out from his eyes, nose and mouth. Morin got up on his knees, coughing violently as the blood refused to stop. He felt Tom grabbing onto him but he shook the hands off. He staggered up, holding his hands to his mouth. The blood sipped through his fingers, draining his body from the liquid he so desperately needed. Morin saw Tom's panicked face before he fell to the ground.

"I'm so sorry!" he heard Tom scream but it was already too late. Tom saw it as well; the ice he had so carefully wiped away from his lover's eyes had returned on full force.

His emotions were gone, in a flash. He was no longer the nineteen-year old Morin Black. He was no longer the smart and cunning man everyone had grown to know. He was once more in his most hated role in his life, the role as the lone son to the Gryffindor couple, Morinius Gryffindor. He was once more the child that believed trusting people was a weakness, and love was nothing but a hinder.

They had come to the beginning of the end.

Tbc…

* * *

**EDITED 2010-01-20**

Until later,

Ja,

Tiro


	21. Ch 20: The Real Prophecy

**Reverse of a Dark Future**

_Current summary: Chapter __Twenty. An attack on the castle; what has Morin planned?_

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Harry Potter, JK Rowling does. She is a wonderful author and I love her Harry Potter books. I do not own any of the persons in this fic **except** for Morin Black, Anemone Poena, Fiona and her mother. They're mine, I created them! Oh, and I own the two house-elves Miela and Pather as well.

**Spoilers**: Um, book four and five. Only a bit though in the fourth book, and book five does not happen in this fic except that I mention some things and some creatures you should be aware about. Good if you have read up to book five. Book six or seven does not happen at all.

It's not spoilers, but I will warn you that all of the characters will be a bit different. The most major ones are Snape, Draco, the Weasley twins, Percy and Voldemort. Oh, and Harry will be a bit different, and I warn you it will be a bit mental abuse from the Dursleys directed to our little Harry.

And beware, because I am an evil girl and I have changed Voldemort's past!

Not everything will center on Harry, but most of the time it will together with Morin. Morin is involved in Harry's whole life and they will get close to each other. Some parts will be all Morin, but I will not make this fic so it will only be about Morin, don't worry.

**Pairings**: Voldemort(Tom)/Morin

_Warning for this chapter: Um, nothing._

-

**EDITED 2010-01-20**

-

**Chapter Twenty: ****The Real Prophecy**

"So it has come down to this, Tom?"

-

"In four days, there will be an attack on Hogwarts."

The Great Hall was deathly silent. Dumbledore sighed wearily before continuing:

"The attack has been ordered by Voldemort. Over the next two days, we will secure the castle since we are unable to leave; new wards have already been put around Hogwarts' grounds. We will do everything in our power to protect you all."

Every student was pale as a sheet before the talking took over. They ran up to the teacher's table, to someone else's table, distressed and worried.

Harry was sitting quietly and staring at his plate. Everyone expected him to fight Voldemort, he knew this. Dumbledore had with a grave face told him the prophecy. Either he had to die, or Voldemort had to die. That was it.

"You alright, Har?"

He looked over at Draco and smiled weakly.

"No… I'm not," he replied.

-

He found himself lying next to Morin's motionless body an hour later. He curled up, draping one of the man's arms around him so he could at least pretend Morin was still there.

"Please," he whispered. "Please, wake up… I can't do this… Please, Morin… Please…"

Snape came out from the shadows and gently placed a hand on Harry's shoulder. The teen looked up and the potions master said:

"What you are asking for is a miracle, Harry. Please, don't chain yourself to Morin. That will only end in your own suffering."

"I don't care!" Harry screamed, hands fisting into Morin's shirt. "I want him to live!"

Snape bended up the teen's fingers, pulled him up and hugged him tightly. Harry cried out against the man's chest, feeling like all hope was already gone.

-

It sucked, not being able to touch or be seen.

Morin sighed and tried again, without success, touch Harry's trembling shoulder. He stood up from the bed and looked around. He was not dead, and yet he was not alive. This was not how it was supposed to end! Or wait… it had not ended yet. Voldemort's attack here on Hogwarts must be because of Morin. With Morin dead, the Dark Lord had nothing to loose. That meant he could rampage around for all he wanted.

Well… Morin could not allow it. He had to get back to his body. There was still the will to fight in him, and Harry's last magic. He would not let the older Harry's sacrifice go to waste. Alright, how to do get back to his body? He was not called genius for nothing.

-

Voldemort continued to destroy his office, no longer caring. He had tried to call out for Morin, but only silence met him. Nagini had tried to reassure him, but he had killed her in anger. He could not even feel sorry for that.

He decided that if Morin was gone, he could do whatever he wanted with the world and then follow his lover.

-

The next two days the teachers were running around, adding protective charms or nasty hexes all over the place. They had charmed the Great Hall so that all of the students could be there, and that no one could enter. They would put one teacher there so that he or she could open the door once it was finished.

Students in their fifth year or above were allowed to fight, and Harry and his friends had decided to join. They would protect the castle and the students with all their powers.

-

Morin had searched in every way he could, and had not found one bloody way to get back to his body. So he settled on standing in front of the bed and staring at himself.

The door opened and he turned. Harry came inside, and sat down by the chair next to the bed. The teen took Morin's cold hand and said quietly:

"I think I'm going to die in this battle. I can feel something strange in my body… acceptance maybe? Draco said he would protect me, but he won't stand a chance against Voldemort. No one can stand a chance."

He gripped the delicate hand harder and continued:

"I want you here. Just you being here make my heart at ease. Seeing you like this makes me sad, and angry. Angry at you, at myself. You never know when to stop, and I'm too dense to notice your illness. Everyone says it's your time, but I don't want you to die."

Morin moved carefully and put his hand over Harry's.

The teen frowned as he felt another coldness settle on top of his hand, and could almost feel the cool touch of human skin where it was nothing. He looked at the raven-haired man's face, and then back to his own hand. He could feel there was something there. The coolness moved away after a little while and Harry sighed. Must have been his imagination.

-

Remus did not whether to curse Morin or to tell him to get the hell up. He was standing by the man's bed, just a few hours before this damned battle, looking down at his white face.

"You made Harry cry," he settled on at last. He spoke calmly, but his eyes stung with tears himself. "You made him cry, you bastard."

No change. The werewolf fisted his hands in Morin's shirt and pulled the body up. The raven-haired man's head fell back, but there was no movement from the man.

"I know you can hear me, Morin," the DADA teacher said. "I know you are somewhere in there and I want you to listen."

He put the body back to the bed and took a few deep breaths.

"You caused Albus pain," he began and stared at Morin's beautiful face. "You made Voldemort plan an attack on us. You made students loose hope. You are a complete coward. You kept everything away from everyone, deciding only to tell them when it was almost too late. Why have you changed? When you lived with James and Lily, you were so… forward. You never hid facts. Or did you? Maybe you did after all. But you never made Harry cry. You looked after him like your own son. He loved you, damn he still loves you and you make him this sad. Morin… you're pathetic."

Morin's reactions were to be suspected; nothing. Remus growled in frustration and resisted the urge to punch the life back to the man.

"I hate you," was all he managed before breaking down in tears.

-

A few minutes later Remus felt a coolness settle on his face, like two hands on his cheeks. His tears were wiped away by nothing and he continued to stare right ahead. He had no idea he was actually staring at Morin's chest, and that Morin aka the ghostlike Morin stroke away the tears.

Just as the coolness moved away the werewolf heard a faint whisper:

"_I'm sorry_…"

He snapped his head around.

"Morin?"

"_Here_…"

He snapped towards the voice, and saw nothing. It was the raven-haired man's voice, but where was he? It did not come from the bed; in fact, it came from the opposite direction.

"Morin, is that you?" the werewolf demanded to know.

"_I'm so sorry_…"

Remus stood up from where he had kneeled down and whipped around. There!

It was only a weak outline but it was there. Emerald eyes looked at him, framed by raven hair and the pale face was white.

"Morin?" Remus said weakly.

"_I was thrown out from my body_," the ghost-like man said. "_I need to get back. I need help to get back inside_."

"I don't know how to," the werewolf almost whined, fearing tears would fall again.

"_I will do it with or without your help, Remus_," Morin said. "_Help me, please. I won't let Harry die. I already know what to do_."

"The prophecy…"

"_It's false_."

Remus stared at him.

"What?" he finally got out.

-

Voldemort had scared the shit out of his Death Eaters and they had fled the manor instead of waiting there the last few hours. The Dark Lord himself was sitting in the cold living room, a glass of fire-whiskey in his hand. Morin was not much of a drinker, he remembered, but he enjoyed fire-whiskey. Though the first time they had it, Morin had gotten drunk and a very interesting night had followed.

Voldemort smiled sadly at the memory. Anemone had scolded him the day after, saying Morin was so sore he could not sit down. Voldemort had felt a bit guilty afterwards and comforted his no-longer-virgin lover. But that was long ago.

He took a sip from the glass and felt the alcohol burn down his throat. He felt the sadness build up and pushed away all thoughts of the battle, where he would die. He would fulfil Morin's last wish or freeing Harry, and he would make sure that he would find his lover again.

-

Remus looked at Morin and said:

"No one else know that the prophecy is fake?"

"_No_," the raven-haired man replied. "_I heard the real one some years ago, around a decade before Harry was born_."

"Let me hear it", Remus demanded.

Morin hesitated for a while. Should he really…? He had nothing to loose, he realized and nodded.

"It's a long one," he warned and the werewolf settled down. He took a deep breath and told the prophecy that had been forgotten for many years:

"_In the midst of the last battle, when all hope is lost a new light shall shine. Born to this fate, the Dark Lord and the Child of the Four Founders shall meet on even ground with equal powers. The Shadows the Light __despises shall come in their favour, hunting down the Warriors of the Dark. Children of Tomorrow shall be safe by the time the last light of the sun shall fade. Tears shall wash away old sorrows, laughter shall bring new hope. Never to despair, Child of Light, the Survivor of Death, for your loved one shall return."_

Remus stared as Morin finished and then said weakly:

"Who made this predicament?"

Morin stared back at him and replied softly:

"_I did_."

"You?" the werewolf said.

"_I heard it a few years after I made it_," Morin said. "_Normally Seers can't hear their own sayings, but I have an ancient Seer-connection in my body who made the predicament. I merely helped him saying it out loud_."

"What does it mean?" Remus said and stood up.

"_No ones knows_," Morin said. 'Except for me,' he added in his head.

"I need to tell this to the others," Remus said hurriedly.

"_I thought so_," the raven-haired man said with a sigh. "_Go to my rooms; you will find the prophecy there_."

"You keep it with you?"

"_It's too dangerous for people to know_," Morin said. "_Do not tell everyone_."

"Alright," the werewolf said before rushing out.

Morin looked after him for a while.

"_First stage, completed_." His voice echoed before he faded away.

-

Dumbledore's office was crowded and everyone jumped as the door crashed open. Remus came inside, panting and clutching something to his chest.

"Remus?" Harry asked worriedly.

"Albus," the werewolf said, gaining the headmaster's attention. "The prophecy concerning Harry and You-Know-Who…"

"Yes?" Dumbledore said.

"It's a fake. I have the real one here."

"Who gave it to you?" Snape asked, wide-eyed.

"Believe it or not, but Morin is too freaking stubborn to die," Remus said while running a shaking hand through his hair. "He scared the shit out of me, standing there like a fucking ghost."

"Ghost?" Dumbledore echoed.

"I could barely make him out," the werewolf said. "He said something about his body throwing him out but this is not the time. Harry is not the one supposed to kill You-Know-Who!"

Silence.

"Let us hear the prophecy," the potions master said.

Remus carefully pulled the shining ball out from the bag and placed it on the desk. Harry felt a squeeze on his hand coming from Draco and Hermione and Ron held onto his shoulder. The twins sat silently close by, Pansy, Blaise and Neville sitting not far from there.

The werewolf tapped on the ball with his wand and a figure came out. Several gasps.

"That's Morin!" McGonagall cried out.

"He made the predicament," Remus said and the prophecy began.

It was spoken with an eerie voice, Morin's eyes completely black and masked from emotions. Everyone's eyes got wider and wider the further he spoke. But then he began coming to the last part:

"Never to despair, Child of Light," he said and then he made the most strange thing ever. The eyes became green again and he stared right at Harry as he continued, "The Survivor of Death, for your loved one shall return."

The eerie form of Morin only lasted for a moment before he disappeared into mist and came back to the ball. No one spoke for a while.

"When was it made?" Dumbledore asked, breaking the silence after a long while.

"More than a decade before Harry was born," Remus replied. "He already then knew that Harry would survive the Killing Curse?"

Harry's head was spinning. The Survivor of Death; was that him? Why had Morin looked at him while saying that?

"Did Morin know what it meant?" the headmaster said.

"He claimed no one did," Remus said.

"The Child of the Four Founders," Dumbledore mused.

"There is no such child," McGonagall said, frowning. "Or does it?"

"Perhaps… Severus, do you remember the Veil underneath the school?"

"Yes," the potions master said.

"There the King of Death said that Morin was them."

"Them, who?" Flitwick said but Snape had paled.

"Frightening eyes like Godric Gryffindor," Dumbledore began.

"Fighting stance like Salazar Slytherin," Snape mumbled as they all looked between the potions master and the headmaster. "Mind like Rowena Ravenclaw…"

"And loyalty like Helga Hufflepuff," the headmaster finished. "The King of Death described Morin as such. He practically screamed to us that Morin is the Child of the Four Founders."

-

"Second stage, done."

Morin hummed happily to himself as he sat down. He could return to his body now, but knew the limit. He would not survive long when using his powers, even with Harry's help, so he decided only to go back when they needed him to finish the prophecy. He pondered on the said prophecy that no one had taken seriously. He himself had already known what it meant, but he was not about to say it.

It was a simple one, though. He was to fight Voldemort, and Voldemort was to fight him. They were to fight over the future of the Wizarding world, and Morin had a feeling in a way, both of them would win in the end.

-

"What are we going to do?" Remus asked. "It doesn't matter that Morin is included in the prophecy; he's still in a coma and we aren't exactly going to let him fight if he indeed wakes up."

"The Horcruxes Tom made are gone," Dumbledore said. "The only thing left is to kill Tom himself. We will not try out Harry's prophecy, and not send him out against Tom alone. We will do our best to together bring him down."

Harry seemed to sag in relief, happy that he did not have to fight Voldemort. Remus smiled weakly and said:

"If only Sirius was here. He would happily strike down one or two Death Eaters."

"The Floo is blocked as well," the headmaster said. "Otherwise there would not be a single student in this school when Tom attacks."

At the same moment, they heard shouts and McGonagall ran to the window.

"They're here!" she called out.

-

Morin looked outside the window. He could see the Death Eaters move and said quietly:

"The Warriors of the Dark shall be brought down by Shadows."

He shook his head slowly, to clear his mind. He looked up again and said, almost to himself:

"Do I even want to continue to live?"

-

Voldemort looked grimly up at the castle. It still was beautiful, his solitude from the Muggles, though Morin's flat response that it was cold inside had made him chuckle. Good old Morin always found something to complain about.

He looked back at his Death Eaters and sighed. They believed they were going in for a win; he knew he was going to take his own life on these very grounds.

-

They had gathered outside, on the steps or on the grounds itself. Dumbledore was standing at the steps and straining his eyes to catch a glimpse of his old student. The students that had insisted to fight had been positioned at the back, so that they may not need fighting as much as the adults. Luckily when the wards had been brought up there had been some Aurors in the castle. Except for the teachers, they had been joined by Shacklebolt, Tonks, Kingsley, Morin's friend David Grindled and Mad-Eye Moody.

Harry looked over the faceless Death Eaters and shivered. This was not a game; this was utterly real and he was scared to death by it.

"_The Warriors of the Dark shall be brought down by Shadows."_

The raven-haired teen's eyes widened as he heard the faint whisper, but looking around he saw no one else had reacted. He gripped his wand tighter and closed his eyes; he was just wandering with his thoughts.

"_The Lord of Darkness shall never put his foot inside this domain."_

The same voice made Harry's skin creep. Who was it?

"_Trust me."_

Whatever it was, whoever it was, Harry found himself trusting it.

-

The battle had begun abruptly and brutally. Morin watched on as curses flew left and right, and waited. He hated waiting, especially at time like this. He walked back to the bed where his body was and made sure his wand was nearby. He looked over at the two necklaces on his neck, smiling faintly. Only Harry would come up with such a gift.

He felt Voldemort's magic becoming stronger, knowing he was preparing for either death or the ritual.

But then he felt it. A stray Avada Kedavra, speeding towards the potions master. Morin froze, then decided. No more death.

-

"Severus!"

Snape turned to see the green curse coming towards him at an alarming rate. His eyes widened, and Remus had to hold Harry back. The potions master had no time to dodge, so he prayed to whatever god above that the Avada Kedavra truly was a painless way to pass onto death.

However, the spell never reached him. Everyone stared in horror as well as awe as the green curse had stopped inches away from him. Snape dropped to the ground, staring at the Avada Kedavra with his eyes wider than ever.

"Look!" one Death Eater screamed. "Look at the castle!"

They all turned, and both screams and gasps were heard. From every window of Hogwarts, shadows welled out. They came down to the ground like water, travelling past the light wizards straight towards the Death Eaters.

"The Shadows the Light despises shall come in their favour, hunting down the Warriors of the Dark,"Albus whispered. "Morin."

From the shadows, just some twenty metres from the Dark Lord, a figure began to rise. The body slowly stretched, and endless green eyes opened. His pale face was shining in the evening sun, and his raven hair appeared soft as silk. Voldemort could not believe his eyes.

"Morin," he breathed.

The raven-haired man turned and said:

"It's time for us to finish what we began, Tom. It's time for us to fulfil the prophecy we made together."

Tbc…

* * *

**EDITED 2010-01-20**

Chapter twenty-one: The final fight between the two lovers. The stake; the future of the world.

Until later,

Ja,

Tiro


	22. Ch 21: We three were one, Tom

**Reverse of a Dark Future**

_Current summary: Chapter __Twenty-One. The final fight between the two lovers. The stake; the future of the world._

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Harry Potter, JK Rowling does. She is a wonderful author and I love her Harry Potter books. I do not own any of the persons in this fic **except** for Morin Black, Anemone Poena, Fiona and her mother. They're mine, I created them! Oh, and I own the two house-elves Miela and Pather as well.

**Spoilers**: Um, book four and five. Only a bit though in the fourth book, and book five does not happen in this fic except that I mention some things and some creatures you should be aware about. Good if you have read up to book five. Book six or seven does not happen at all.

It's not spoilers, but I will warn you that all of the characters will be a bit different. The most major ones are Snape, Draco, the Weasley twins, Percy and Voldemort. Oh, and Harry will be a bit different, and I warn you it will be a bit mental abuse from the Dursleys directed to our little Harry.

And beware, because I am an evil girl and I have changed Voldemort's past!

Not everything will center on Harry, but most of the time it will together with Morin. Morin is involved in Harry's whole life and they will get close to each other. Some parts will be all Morin, but I will not make this fic so it will only be about Morin, don't worry.

**Pairings**: Voldemort(Tom)/Morin

_Warning for this chapter:__ Nothing, nada. Well… nah, nothing._

-

(Old note): One of the readers had a question if future Harry was gay. He's not, it's just he goes along with pretty much everything Morin does.

**EDITED 2010-01-20**

-

**Chapter Twenty-One: We three were one, Tom**

_Previously:  
_"_It's time for us to finish what we began, Tom. It's time for us to fulfil the prophecy we made together."_

"Fulfil the prophecy they made together?" Dumbledore said, dumb-founded.

To their surprise, Voldemort chuckled weakly and said:

"I always wondered who the hell the Child of the Four Founders was, but I guess I should have guessed it because of that ring you gave me."

Morin said nothing. Instead he reached into his mind where the older Harry was and said:

'It's time for both of us. Are you ready?'

'All my remaining magic, all my spells… everything you want. Just save them, and save yourself.'

'I will.'

They looked at each other quietly for a while, and it startled everyone when Voldemort whipped his wand out and screamed:

"Incendio!"

Morin dodged the spell and threw one of his own. The shadows tore up violently from the ground and made Morin become a part of it. Suddenly his hair connected to the shadows and his feet disappeared in them. His eyes turned to a deeper green and Voldemort widened his eyes.

"What have you done to yourself?" the Dark Lord asked.

"I've done what I predicted I would do," Morin said. "I have become the Child of the Four Founders."

He stretched out his left hand and a blade appeared. But not just any blade.

"The sword of Gryffindor," Harry whispered in awe.

Voldemort looked at his lover and said man changed position. He eased into a new one, unfamiliar to everyone else. He then began to speak:

"Maybe I should share something with you, Tom."

"And what could that be?" the Dark Lord said as he prepared for an attack.

"Are you aware that this body is not completely mine anymore?"

Everyone stared. Morin continued:

"Around two years ago, I was prepared to die when a salvation came to me. Maybe I could have lived on for another year before my heart would stop."

"Your heart would not have stopped with the amount of Immortality Potion I poured into you," Voldemort said. Gasps were heard, but neither of them listened very well.

"Have you ever heard about dying from a broken heart?" the raven-haired man. "Fortunately, there was a man that wanted to change something. He had seen the outcomes of your war, and the death of his friends. He wanted to reverse a dark future."

"Who are you talking about?" the dark wizard said, trying to take all of this in.

"I cannot say," Morin replied. "All I can was that I accepted it, and from being two persons, we became one. Without his magic constantly strengthening me, I would have died some time ago. As a token of gratitude for his endless support, I'll let him do the next attack."

Morin made a graceful stroke with the blade, and everyone stared as water came flooding out from thin air, looking like it had come from the tip of the blade. Voldemort found himself looking into another set of emerald eyes, fiercer and more alive. He knew those eyes.

"Potter?" he whispered. No had heard, except for Morin himself. His lips turned into a full Harry Potter-grin and he replied a typical older Harry Potter-sentence for Voldemort's ears only:

"Never heard about time-travelling, little ickle Voldemort?"

-

Harry's breath caught as he watched them fight. They moved gracefully and fired of curses after each other, neither hitting. He had never seen Voldemort fight in that way, and apparently no one else had. Even his Death Eater had stopped, staring at their master.

Morin jumped back and stopped in a crouched position. It was then they saw it. One of the eyes were deep, Morin's eye while the other was a vibrant green, almost as light as Avada Kedavra. Voldemort stopped as well and narrowed his eyes. Their eyes locked and the silence was almost deafening for a few moments. But almost as soon as they had stopped they began running towards each other. This time, the Dark Lord quickly conjured a sword and gasps filled the air as the two wizards abandoned their wands and the swords clashed together. This was a fight that had begun long ago, a fight that they both had the intent to stop this day.

-

Morin and Voldemort both refused to back down, their arms almost shaking with exhaustion as the swords was locked together.

"Why did you let her?" Morin said softly, looking into Voldemort's red eyes. No one had heard.

"I didn't," Voldemort said.

"Stop lying!"

They both drew away only to clash again. The two sides looked at Morin as anger and rage began coming off him in waves. Voldemort knew he had pissed the raven-haired man off, and he had done so badly.

"I've asked you time after time," Morin said, not caring who was listening, "why you let her die. You've always lied to me; now tell me the truth or I swear I will kill every single person on your side before turning you to ash."

'He's serious,' Voldemort thought and wearily closed his eyes.

"She got scared," he said after a while, breaking the silence. He opened his eyes and looked at his lover; the sun made half of his face being shadowed and the man had never looked more beautiful. Voldemort wanted to throw his sword away, embrace Morin and tell him everything was going to be alright. But he could not.

"Scared of what?" Morin asked, finally getting to hear the truth.

"After we killed the Gryffindor pair," Voldemort said, "she began feeling guilty. She felt like they knew it was her, and she wanted to tell. She promised she would keep me out from it, but I knew she would not be able to. I tried to stop her, but she wouldn't listen. So…"

Harry looked around, wondering who the hell they were talking to. Morin saw the truth in Voldemort's eyes, closed his own and said painfully:

"You killed her… Tom, you killed Anemone." A bloody tear made its way down his face, and the Dark Lord felt his eyes burn at the sight.

Albus' eyes widened as he stared at the two lovers. Voldemort nodded, could not deny the accusation and said:

"That's why I'm going to do this. To make it up."

"What?" Dumbledore whispered, not understanding anything.

Morin and Voldemort looked at each other, silently speaking with their eyes. Morin understood. The Dark Lord asked him, and he accepted. The dark wizard's lips turned into a smile and said:

"Okay. Let's do this."

The sun began to descend. Morin took a deep breath and took a good grip on the Gryffindor sword. Voldemort raised his to eye-level, then slashed it through the air and began running. Morin did not move. The shadows rose up behind him, its duty done with multiply Death Eaters injured. Several people screamed at Morin, told him to get out of the way, now, or else he would be killed. He did nothing.

Just as Voldemort's sword was going to pierce through his body, Morin threw up the shadows around them, and everything got hidden to the others.

"We won't have much time," Morin commented, blood dripping from his mouth. He felt the final traces of Harry's magic melting, dripping away from him with the crimson liquid he needed to survive. He bid a quiet farewell of the man, feeling Harry slip away as well. A faint voice, then the man from the future was gone.

Voldemort held the man gently, the sword sticking out from the emerald-eyed man's back. He eased Morin down onto the ground and said:

"I'll finish it now; I got five minutes before the oath will kill me."

"Why are you doing this?" Morin asked, looking up at the man with now clear tears running from his eyes. "You could have won."

"I didn't want to," Voldemort said.

"Why did you fall for the false prophecy in the beginning?"

"Because I did not remember the one we made until it was too late. Now let me work."

Voldemort closed his eyes and concentrated. This would be painful, but not for him…

-

Everyone reacted as Harry suddenly screamed out in pain. He clutched his head and his emerald eyes opened wide in shock before pain made them close tightly. Draco caught the teen before he fell to the ground and people rushed to his side.

The scar began bleeding and Harry's body convulsed in pain. His screams echoed around the castle, even making some of the Death Eaters wince. Without knowing, the wards they had put up fell down, and that alerted a hundred Aurors who rushed inside the gates.

Draco tried to hold his friend's body still but Harry seemed not to have any control at all. His eyes rolled back in his head and the blonde screamed out:

"There's something coming out from him!"

They all backed off as they saw something akin to a black mist releasing itself from Harry. Dumbledore watched it and said:

"It's a piece of a soul. It must be Tom's soul."

As soon as the mist had separated itself, Harry became limp and the bleeding immediately stopped. The wound knitted itself together, leaving the faintest of scar behind.

At the same moment as Harry relaxed, a scream was heard inside the walls of shadows.

-

Voldemort never thought it was true. He said it was rubbish, completely untrue… but it was true. When you are about to die, your life flashes by your eyes. He saw everything, every victory and every fallback. He saw the smiling Anemone winking at him, Morin's eyes softening when connected to his own… All the memories from school, every laugh, every smile… he never wanted them to stop. He never wanted to become a Dark Lord. He just wanted them, their safe cocoon. He wanted to be a part of the Slytherin Trio once more, with their backs turned from everything else.

He, now old and bitter, clutched onto Morin's dying body, crying as he felt the sword he had himself thrust into his lover's chest. Morin coughed, blood splattering down onto Voldemort's robe. The emerald eyes gazed softly into his frightened red eyes and Morin said slowly, but gently:

"We're just going to another place for a little while. Meet Anemone, discuss pranks and teasing me for being smart. She will catch us kissing, she will laugh at your blush and my goofy grin. Everything is alright now."

Voldemort smiled. He knew his lover would say that, and he knew it was right. The Dark Lord of the century gently caught the bloodied lips with his own and felt his heart beat one extra, two extra… then it stopped.

Everything stopped, for them.

Tbc…

* * *

**EDITED 2010-01-20**

Until later,

Ja,

Tiro


	23. Ch 22: The Painful Ending

**Reverse of a Dark Future**

_Current summary: Chapter __Twenty-Two. The ending of a battle, not won by anyone._

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Harry Potter, JK Rowling does. She is a wonderful author and I love her Harry Potter books. I do not own any of the persons in this fic **except** for Morin Black, Anemone Poena, Fiona and her mother. They're mine, I created them! Oh, and I own the two house-elves Miela and Pather as well.

**Spoilers**: Um, book four and five. Only a bit though in the fourth book, and book five does not happen in this fic except that I mention some things and some creatures you should be aware about. Good if you have read up to book five. Book six or seven does not happen at all.

It's not spoilers, but I will warn you that all of the characters will be a bit different. The most major ones are Snape, Draco, the Weasley twins, Percy and Voldemort. Oh, and Harry will be a bit different, and I warn you it will be a bit mental abuse from the Dursleys directed to our little Harry.

And beware, because I am an evil girl and I have changed Voldemort's past!

Not everything will center on Harry, but most of the time it will together with Morin. Morin is involved in Harry's whole life and they will get close to each other. Some parts will be all Morin, but I will not make this fic so it will only be about Morin, don't worry.

**Pairings**: Voldemort(Tom)/Morin

_Warning for this chapter: Major angst?_

-

**EDITED 2010-01-20**

-

**Chapter Twenty-Two: The Painful Ending**

The shadows slowly fell away. The Light side held their breaths. The Death Eaters, now all in custody of Aurors, held their breaths. Who won? Who had killed the other?!

The sun sent its last light as the two figures was revealed. Voldemort was holding Morin, who by now had closed his eyes and left the living world, his body limp in the arms of his lover, a small smile on his bloodied lips. Harry, who had woken up, froze and tears began forming. Sirius, who had entered with the Aurors, clutched onto his godson, his eyes wide. Someone screamed killer at the Dark Lord, but his eyes were unfocused. He slowly turned to Albus who stood just a bit away, and said with tears in his voice:

"Nothing lasts forever… Albus. Not even my own dreams."

Then the oath acted. He coughed up blood from his lungs, the clear redness trickling down his chin, gasped one last time before his body fell, following his lover into death.

Harry screamed.

-

The night fell quietly, and Hogwarts was in chaos. Parents were collecting their children, thanking every teacher in sight for keeping them safe. But in one place you could hear a needle drop. The Infirmary was quiet, except for the occasional sniff or sob. A few students had lost their lives, a few very brave students. Two seventh-year Gryffindors, both friends to the Weasley twins. One sixth-year Ravenclaw and three seventh-year Ravenclaws. One from Hufflepuff in her shy fifth year, and some of the youngest in Slytherin. All had been under third year and they had taken their own lives, fearing their parents would end it anyway since they tried to survive.

But there was one death that had shaken up most people in the entire castle. The death of one Morin Black.

They had put his body in a small side-room, along with the body of Voldemort. The headmaster had said they had died in each other's arms, and deserved to be buried next to each other. Then he had silently beginning to cry, not being able to speak for the next hour.

Harry had screamed himself raw and even the comfort of Sirius, Severus and Remus had not been enough to calm him down. He was currently sitting in Sirius' lap, the man softly stroking his unruly hair. Severus was comforting his silently crying godson. The Weasleys had gone outside, the twins throwing their last glances at the dead man before starting to cry again. Hermione was comforted by Molly, her eyes red and watery because of all the crying.

Remus was the one managing the most, but even so he was heart-broken. He had taken it as his job to clean Morin's wounds and dress the body for the funeral. He had found a note along with the prophecy that had been with a list of things Morin did not want buried with him; instead, they were to be put into a special vault which no one would be able to enter except for himself and a trusted goblin. The werewolf had taken it as his duty to put those things away and waiting for the goblin to pick them up. And then it had been his will that would be read in the near future. A letter would be sent to those it concerned.

But those things mattered little to the man right now. He put his whole heart into combing the emerald-eyed man's hair into perfection. The blood was washed away, the knots were undone and soon the hair spilled over his shoulders, shining and framing his face. The werewolf put away the comb and looked at the man he had gotten to know one random day almost a full year before Harry was born. On orders, Morin had gone to live with the Potters. Over time, it had grown apparent, neither Lily nor James wanted him to leave since he was the only one with somewhat of control in their son, Harry.

"Moony?"

Remus turned around and saw that Harry had finally passed out. Sirius winced and continued to whisper:

"Can you take him? I need to walk around for a bit."

"Sure."

The werewolf and the Black carefully moved around until the teen was in the werewolf's arms and the other man walked out of the door. Madam Pomfrey came inside and saw the four people.

"You should get some sleep," she whispered. Draco shook his head at her words, and Severus replied:

"I don't think I can get him out of the room without him screaming."

"Just let them stay here," Remus said to the witch. "They just want to be close to Morin for the last time."

The witch nodded and moved out, her eyes not dry. She had not been able to look at Morin's corpse without crying. The potions master looked at the dead man and then over at his old master.

"Why did Voldemort die?" he asked Remus, not fearing to say the name anymore.

"I don't know," Remus said. "He just… died. He freed Harry."

"I wonder why."

"Maybe he wanted to make up with Morin. He said so."

"Making up by taking out his soul from Harry?"

"Yes," the werewolf said. "Morin really loved Harry as his own son."

The teen in his arms stirred and Remus quickly looked down. Green eyes slowly opened and he said quietly, voice still raw:

"Remus?"

"Yes," the werewolf said. "Would you like some water?"

"That would be nice."

The emerald-eyed teen turned his eyes towards Morin, and this time he did not start wailing. He closed his eyes wearily and let his head fall back to Remus' chest. A cool glass was pressed against his mouth and Harry sipped a bit before leaning away. The werewolf put the glass away and shifted the teen to a more comfortable spot.

"Why did he have to die?" Harry whispered after a while.

"I have no idea," Remus said softly. "Sometimes, life isn't fair."

"I want him to wake up," the teen said, "but I know he won't. He's with his friends now, and he's happy."

"How do you know?" the blonde asked his friend.

"I can feel it," Harry said. "His heart is lighter than ever, even though he's sad. He can be with his two friends, and he can be the child he always wanted to be."

The three stared at Harry, but said teen shifted his eyes over to Voldemort.

"He really loved Voldemort," the emerald-eyed teen said quietly. "Loved him so much it was breaking him apart."

"What?" Severus said.

"I found out long ago," Harry said. "The necklace on his wand and later the necklace he always wore… it was a gift from Voldemort. They really loved each other, but it just happened they lived in a world where their opinions were different. I guess they both thought if they couldn't live together, they could at least die together."

-

The funerals were held a few days later. Harry stood with Sirius and Remus, Severus and Draco next to them. They saw Fiona stand on the opposite side, but she kept staring into space, tears rolling down her cheeks. Albus was standing next to her, and an unknown woman looking like Fiona stood there as well. Her eyes were hard, her mouth in a tight line. They recognized it as a sign she tried very hard not to cry.

The ceremony ended and people moved away, except for a small group. Fiona stepped up to Morin's grave and traced the stone with her hand. Harry laid down the flowers he had bought for Morin, and after only a moment's hesitation, put down another bunch of flowers on Voldemort's grave. Fiona looked at him and said:

"He told you as well?"

"I figured it out," the teen replied quietly. "His necklace… he told me how he got it and I just guessed the rest."

Fiona crouched down and put down her flowers. The unknown woman stepped up and Fiona got out through clenched teeth:

"Why are you here, mother?"

They all looked at the unknown woman in shock. It was Morin's cousin.

"I cannot be here?" the woman asked quietly.

"You never cared," Fiona said. "You always kept yourself away from him."

"That didn't mean I didn't love him," she said and her daughter looked up at her. "He was special, in a way that cousin of mine. Whatever I did or whatever I said, no matter if it was right or wrong… he always said it was alright. He always understood why I did what I did. He understood that people sometimes do wrong for the right reasons, and always accepted my distance. He knew I was doing my best."

Fiona stared at her mother. The woman took out four flowers and their eyes widened.

"An anemone for their lost friend, so she can rest with them," Fiona's mother said and put the anemone on the ground between the two graves. "An ivy for their friendship, an iris for their hope. And one white rose for the eternal love."

While she spoke, she carefully intertwined the four flowers together with each other. She then plucked out two items. She placed a dark green stone on Morin's gravestone and said:

"Green for Morin."

She placed a ruby on Voldemort's.

"And red for Tom."

She looked at them all, two small tears falling from her eyes. A wind began to blow gently. She smiled a bit and said:

"Can you feel that?"

"Feel what?" some of them asked but Harry's eyes widened.

"Morin's scent," he whispered. "Vanilla."

"You're right," the potions master said.

"He's here," the woman said. "And one day he will be back."

"How do you know?" Harry asked.

"_Never to despair, Child of Light, the Survivor of Death, for your loved one shall return_," she repeated. "And let's face it; Morin doesn't care about the rules or laws, not even those about death."

Tbc…

* * *

**EDITED 2010-01-20**

Chapter twenty-three: Morin's will.

Until later,

Ja,

Tiro


	24. Ch 23: The Bittersweet Knowledge

**Reverse of a Dark Future**

_Current summary: Chapter __Twenty-Three. The aftermath._

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Harry Potter, JK Rowling does. She is a wonderful author and I love her Harry Potter books. I do not own any of the persons in this fic **except** for Morin Black, Anemone Poena, Fiona and her mother. They're mine, I created them! Oh, and I own the two house-elves Miela and Pather as well.

**Spoilers**: Um, book four and five. Only a bit though in the fourth book, and book five does not happen in this fic except that I mention some things and some creatures you should be aware about. Good if you have read up to book five. Book six or seven does not happen at all.

It's not spoilers, but I will warn you that all of the characters will be a bit different. The most major ones are Snape, Draco, the Weasley twins, Percy and Voldemort. Oh, and Harry will be a bit different, and I warn you it will be a bit mental abuse from the Dursleys directed to our little Harry.

And beware, because I am an evil girl and I have changed Voldemort's past!

Not everything will center on Harry, but most of the time it will together with Morin. Morin is involved in Harry's whole life and they will get close to each other. Some parts will be all Morin, but I will not make this fic so it will only be about Morin, don't worry.

**Pairings**: Voldemort(Tom)/Morin

_Warning for this chapter:__ Slight angst._

-

**EDITED 2010-01-20**

-

**Chapter Twenty-Three: The Bittersweet Knowledge **

Harry stared at the goblin. The goblin seemed not concerned by it.

"Wha…?" the teen finally got out.

"As it says, Mr Potter, you have inherited all things on this list from Mr Black," it said.

"But there's a lot of stuff that belongs to the Gryffindors," Sirius said.

"You didn't know?" the goblin said.

"Know what?" Harry said.

"Morin Black was known as Morinius Artemis Gryffindor but changed name before he started at Hogwarts," the goblin said. "He inherited the whole Gryffindor treasure when his parents died. And now you have inherited it."

Harry and Sirius looked down at the paper; Morin was the heir to Godric Gryffindor? He sure had not act like one.

"Why me?" Harry asked after a while.

"I think the answer lies within one of the Potter vaults," the goblin said. "I can take you there if you wish."

"Okay."

-

They both entered the vault while the goblin waited outside.

"You want to check around a bit for yourself?" Sirius asked.

"I want to find why Morin gave me all those things," Harry said.

"Check those boxes then. Seems like Lily's; she handled a lot of papers."

Harry did so and slowly sank down in front of the first one. The whole vault was huge and filled with old furniture, boxes with clothes and papers. He saw an old broom leaning against the wall and Sirius picked it up with gentle hands.

Harry tore his eyes away and opened the box where it stood 'Lily's documents'. He slowly picked the papers out, all until he came to a folder where it stood GODFATHER. He opened it and froze. The name was not Sirius'.

"Harry? What's wrong?"

"Sirius… Morin… he was…"

"What?"

"He was my godfather."

-

Harry came back from the vault with a box full with some documents, photo albums and Muggle video tapes. Sirius said Lily had been crazy about those video tapes, and had filmed a lot.

"Sirius…"

"Yeah, kiddo?"

"Why was Morin with mum and dad?"

"At first it was to protect them I think," the man said. "Then he just never left. He adored you together with Lily. You could almost think he felt you were his son."

The teen clutched the box tighter and said:

"Do you think we can get a Muggle TV and see the videos?"

"Sure. Just as long as you handle the… strange stuff."

"Electricity."

"Whatever."

-

"What's that?"

Harry turned around to look at Draco, who was pointing at what he had just set up.

"Hermione hasn't told you?" the raven-haired teen asked, eyebrow raised in a perfect arch. He thought the girl had seen it as her call in life to teach her new boyfriend, aka Draco, all about Muggles.

"Nope. Now tell me."

"It's a TV."

"A what?"

"TV. Muggles watch at TV all the time."

"Why do you have a TV here?"

"Because my mum made some Muggle films, and I want to watch them."

Hermione stepped out from the fire-place and said:

"A TV, Harry?"

"Home-made videos mum made."

"Oh, can we watch as well?" she asked.

"Of course," Harry said with a smile. "I'm making Sirius get pumpkin juice and sweets to the lot of us. He and Remus wanted to watch as well."

"Sounds lovely!" the girl said. "Where are the others?"

"They should come soon," the raven-haired teen said. "Where's Sev, Dray?"

"Coming soon as well," Draco replied. "What are videos?"

"Draco!" Hermione chided. "Don't worry, Harry, I'll explain it for him."

"Don't just make it end as a snogging session!" the teen called after them.

Both of them blushed crimson, and you could hear Sirius' barking laughter in the background, making them blush even more. Even as time passed, they could faintly hear Sirius' hysterical giggles in the kitchen but decided not to make a comment on that.

-

The Weasleys arrived and the place was soon full. Harry and Hermione explained as best as they could about the TV to a very interested Arthur, while the twins discussed pranks with Sirius and Remus. Severus was sitting quietly, nursing a firewhiskey the Black had given him.

"Alright, let's put it on!" Harry called out. "There are lots of them!"

They all settled down quickly, and Hermione and Harry succeeded getting the first one on.

The camera shook a bit, and suddenly Lily's face showed up. Her vibrant green eyes were glittering, her red hair flowing and just a bit of lipstick. Harry could not help but stare at his mother's face. Her smiling and carefree face.

"_Hi_," she said, grinning, into the camera. "_My name is Lily Potter, and this is what I hope will be the start of a long collection of videos. I'm a witch, but this is a Muggle camera. I'm a Muggleborn, which means I was born as a witch in a Muggle family. Anyway, we don't have time for history. Let's go and say hello to my men in the house because you see, I got whole four of them_."

Harry watched the insides of his house with wide eyes, and Sirius squeezed his shoulders. The man vowed to take the teen there, to Godric's Hollow. Maybe even repair it. Lily's voice rang out:

"_Man number one, our own little wolf, Remus Lupin. Say hello, Remus_!"

A younger Remus looked up right into the camera and his voice was heard:

"_A Muggle camera, Lily? Why_?"

"_Come on, just say hello_!"

"_Um, hello_." The werewolf made a good face of pure confusion.

The real Remus looked mildly embarrassed.

"_Alright_," Lily's face came back, "_on to man number two. Where are you, Sirius_?!"

"_Merlin's beard! Hold your horses, Lily; you don't have to make me deaf_!"

The young voice of Sirius rang out, and Lily giggled. The watchers either smiled or laughed quietly. Sirius came into view and he said:

"_What the hell is that?!"_

"_A camera."_

"_A what?"_

"_Camera,_" Lily said. "_Moving pictures. Say hello."_

"_Hello_?" Sirius said, looking at the camera, or her, oddly.

"_Good enough."_

"_What the hell is wrong with normal photos, Lily?"_

"_That's beside the point, Sirius. And now let's ignore Sirius and move on to my favourite one, number three. James!"_

They heard some footsteps, and James Potter's head poked out from behind a door. He looked at the camera and said:

"_Hello, everyone."_

"_Finally somebody who knows what to say,"_ came Lily's muttering. _"Hi, James."_

"_You really shouldn__'t run around like that_," James warned.

"_Come on, I'm only three month pregnant, I'm not giving birth in the next ten minutes_," Lily said, and turned the camera back to her face. "_That was James Potter, my ever-annoying, loving husband. Now, am I finished in presenting the men in my house? No, no! I got one more left, but I have to be careful; he's a rather cunning one!"_

The camera moved as she walked on. She opened the door to the kitchen and called out:

"_Found you!"_

"_Oh no, dear me, such a disaster_," a dry voice came drifting from the video and most of the watcher's breath hitched. It could not be…

"_May I present to you all_," Lily said as she turned the camera into the kitchen, "_the all-in-all terrifying, sneaky, slimy, intelligent Morin Black in own person!"_

"_You forgot evil offspring, Lily, that's my favourite_," Morin said absently, looking at the camera. _"That's a camera."_

"_Oh, you know what it is."_

"_Well, a man has his skills."_

"_Alright, alright, I admit defeat,"_ Lily said and soon they saw her face. _"That was Morin Black, but he is in no way related to Sirius. Now maybe your question is why a Slytherin, Morin, is with a bunch of Gryffindors?"_

"_I know the answer!" _Morin said cheerfully.

"_And what is it?"_

"_I must've gone insane!"_

"_Haha, very funny!"_

"_Alright then, Albus is insane."_

"_Does he have anything with this to do?"_

"_No, but he's still insane!"_

"_Explain why, my dear Morin,_" she said, and turned the camera to him.

"_Yellow robes, Lily,"_ Morin said as if that explained anything. When it did not he carried on, "_What sane person carries yellow robes along with bright blue hair with purple highlights?"_

"_You're responsible for the hair."_

"_No, I'm not,_" the man said quickly and looked away. _"Blame Sirius or James."_

"_You love to colour Albus' hair all the time,_" Lily said and turned the camera back to herself. _"Can you believe this? He once turned Albus hair flaming red with green and silver highlights. And the man just laughed."_

The scene was cut and another began. They were all clips of the life of the Potter pair with their two friends and Morin.

Harry had no idea how long they sat there. All he was certain of was when the first tape was finished, he was near tears.

"Let's continue another time," Sirius suggested, letting his godson rest against his side. The others agreed and said their goodbyes. Fred and George gave Harry a group-hug and soon Hermione, Draco, Ron, Ginny and even Percy joined in. The adults laughed quietly at the children, but they did not care. Harry smiled at them. He had such good friends.

-

Remus and Sirius were cleaning up after their little visit while Harry was going through another photo-album of Morin pictures.

"So mum loved to take portraits?"

"Yes," Remus said. "Especially of Morin."

"And you!" Sirius said, and the werewolf blushed.

"You, Remus?" Harry asked, surprised. He then began looking through the album. "Where?!"

"Just flip some more pages," Sirius said. "They should be there, at least some of them."

The man was right. Harry stared at the young-looking Remus. He turned pages until he came to one that made him freeze.

"Sirius? Remus?"

"Yes?" they both replied simultaneously.

"It's a family picture. Or mum wrote it is."

They both moved to look. In the middle was Lily and James, Lily with Harry in her arms. Sirius stood behind James, his head resting on the man's shoulder. Remus had a hand on Lily's shoulder and Morin stood a bit behind Remus.

"Lily said we were one big family," Sirius whispered. "I, James and you were the bloody brats, though you were the adorable one. Lily and Remus the hard-working mothers and Morin the stressed father. We made lots of jokes about that."

"And now only two brats remains with one mother," Harry said.

"Well, that isn't so bad considering the circumstances," Sirius said. He hugged Harry from behind, holding him close, whispered, "They wouldn't want to see us like this, Harry. They want us happy."

"Yeah," he said quietly. "Yeah, I know."

-

"Alexander Riddler?" Severus asked. "He's dead, Albus."

"Yes," the headmaster said. "He died during the last battle at Hogwarts just a week ago."

The potions master whipped around to stare at the old man. Dumbledore smiled and said:

"There were a lot of things you never knew, Severus. You worked a lot with Alexander during these two short years."

"I've never… wait… it can't be."

"Morin bore many shapes," Dumbledore said. "Alexander Riddler was one of them."

Severus sat down in a chair abruptly and the old wizard continued:

"Some tea before we continue?"

"I'd like that very much," the younger wizard said in a daze.

"Some lemon-drops?"

"I think I'll even take one of them as well."

-

Harry settled down for the night and turned to his side. Next to him was a framed photo and he picked it up. It was of Morin and himself. It was dated back to fifth of June 1981, apparently on the day he had become Harry's godfather.

The teen smiled sadly and stroke the frame.

"Night, Morin," he whispered.

Outside, the wind responded and for a moment the raven-haired teen thought he heard a faint:

"Goodnight, Harry."

Dead people never come back, everyone says. But Harry just knew that Morin would be back.

One day he would be back.

Tbc…

* * *

**EDITED 2010-01-20**

Until later,

Ja,

Tiro


	25. Epilogue

**Reverse of a Dark Future**

_Current summary: __Epilogue._

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Harry Potter, JK Rowling does. She is a wonderful author and I love her Harry Potter books. I do not own any of the persons in this fic **except** for Morin Black, Anemone Poena, Fiona and her mother. They're mine, I created them! Oh, and I own the two house-elves Miela and Pather as well.

**Spoilers**: Um, book four and five. Only a bit though in the fourth book, and book five does not happen in this fic except that I mention some things and some creatures you should be aware about. Good if you have read up to book five. Book six or seven does not happen at all.

It's not spoilers, but I will warn you that all of the characters will be a bit different. The most major ones are Snape, Draco, the Weasley twins, Percy and Voldemort. Oh, and Harry will be a bit different, and I warn you it will be a bit mental abuse from the Dursleys directed to our little Harry.

And beware, because I am an evil girl and I have changed Voldemort's past!

Not everything will center on Harry, but most of the time it will together with Morin. Morin is involved in Harry's whole life and they will get close to each other. Some parts will be all Morin, but I will not make this fic so it will only be about Morin, don't worry.

**Pairings**: Voldemort(Tom)/Morin

_Warning for this chapter: Nothing much actually._

-

**EDITED 2010-01-20**

-

**Epilogue**

**Year 2015  
Hogsmeade**

Harry Potter, age thirty-five, sat and stirred his tea without really paying attention. Many had expected Harry to look exactly like James, but that had not been the case. He still had the unruly hair, and the classic glasses, but other than that he looked more like his mother, Lily. At the moment, he was dressed in an emerald-coloured robe to match his eyes and was staring at the tea.

"Harry?"

The raven-haired man looked up at Hermione, who smiled and sat down carefully. She was eight month pregnant, but still insisted on going outside the house, against her husband, Draco's, wishes.

"Where is your husband?" Harry asked.

"He took Scorpius to Honeydukes," the woman said. "By the way, where is your son?"

"Out with Sirius," Harry said with a small sigh. "They wanted a fresh batch of Fred and George's pranking stuff."

His son was eleven years old and he was going to start at Hogwarts at September the first. Scorpius was in the same age, and they were best friends.

"Do you think Morinius will end up in Slytherin?" Hermione asked.

"Nah," the man said and stretched. "I bet on Ravenclaw; he's so much smarter than me."

"Don't say that," the brunette said with a laugh. "You're smart."

"He's more like Morin."

"No, he's not," Hermione said. "You maybe named your son after Morin, but they are still quite different."

"Daddy!"

Harry turned around and Morinius came running. He had his father's wild hair but the colour of the hair was of his mother's, deep brown. She had died giving birth to Morinius, and Harry had been there to see it. At first Morinius had not breathed and the healers could not get an ounce of life in the child. They gave up, and had prepared to lead Harry out of the room. But as if a miracle, the infant had begun breathing and screaming just as they turned their backs to him. The boy had opened his eyes to reveal glittering emeralds.

Said boy almost jumped onto his father, and giggled. Harry hugged him and said:

"Did you find something good?"

"We bought everything!" Morinius replied, which meant they had bought samples of all the products. Harry groaned; Morinius was a lot like Sirius… a bit too much perhaps.

"If you even try them at me…" the man said warningly.

"I'm not out to get killed, dad," the boy said. "No, we were thinking of trying it on Sev."

"He won't appreciate it either."

"Yeah, we know," Sirius said from behind. "That's why we're going to do it."

"Sirius, have you even grown up the tiniest bit?" Harry asked, looking up as his godfather came to stand beside him.

"Nope!"

Hermione shook her head fondly at the man, and the emerald-eyed man sighed. Morinius snuggled up to his father and the Black sat down.

Draco and Scorpius joined them a few minutes later. Scorpius was a living copy of his father, but had the more rational thinking inherited from Hermione. Morinius jumped down and the two boys hugged. Draco sat down next to his wife and said:

"What's with the depressed look, Harry?"

"Nothing," the man sighed. "Just thinking."

"Do you have to look depressed because of it?" the blonde man said and arched his eyebrow.

"Maybe not."

The raven-haired man looked on as the two boys talked. They were seated at a newly opened café at the center of Hogsmeade, a very popular place to meet and relax.

"Hi guys."

They turned and greeted Ron and Padma. Ron was holding his daughter's hand, a shy-looking eight-year old. She greeted them quietly while Padma gave them all hugs.

"Are we going to have a meeting here or what?" Hermione asked as Fred and George showed up. "Aren't you supposed to handle the shop?"

"Co-workers," the twins replied simultaneously. "We saw you guys, and thought we should join you."

"May as well enlarge the table," Harry said. Soon they were all seated and chatted away as they ordered drinks and some light food.

They saw some old classmates and said hello to everyone. The children watched their parents greet people they had no idea who it was, but just as interesting in any case. Dean came with his wife and three children. He was in a hurry, but flashed them a smile and a greeting. Blaise came in a slower pace and even stopped for a few minutes. His wife was shopping clothes to their daughter, and he preferred not to be there. Understandable, since they knew his wife; Pansy. She could get quite wild at some times and when she was shopping even Hermione knew to stay out of her way.

Severus came by, but did not stop for long. He had to restock his layer of ingredients before the next sea of brats came to Hogwarts. The potions master was less than amused, and told Morinius:

"If you're not better than your father at potions, Merlin help us all."

"Hey, I wasn't that bad!" Harry complained. "Besides, I'm a potions master now!"

"Now, yes. In your teens? No. Not a chance."

Morinius giggled at their banter, and the rest smiled. Harry had not been all that good in potions when he was younger, but he had gotten better when he got older. Severus soon disappeared into the crowds, hunting down what he needed. They continued talking.

And was never aware they were watched.

-

They had lunch but in the middle of it Harry felt a shiver going up his spine. The man shifted and looked over his shoulder. Nothing. But he had been certain someone was watching him.

"Harry, you alright?" Ron asked.

"Yeah," he replied absently. "It's nothing. Just overreacting."

He turned back and continued to pick on the food. They had all complained that he got more and more like Morin for each passing day; eating less, smiling fake smiles, working until he collapsed… But Harry had not been able to change, and now they were all used to it. Besides, having Morinius made the raven-haired man more like himself.

The eyes continued to watch. They shifted over to Morinius and a bit of amusement came into the depths of them.

"Why are we standing here?"

The eyes turned to another set.

"Just watching. Don't want to give them all heart-attacks."

"They're young; they can handle it. You're just too nervous."

"Perhaps that too…"

-

After lunch, Harry was convinced someone was watching. He had no idea who, but it was someone. They all said their goodbyes and moved to get home. Harry took Morinius' hand and they walked down the street.

"Dad, what's wrong?" the boy asked after a while.

"What do you mean?" Harry replied.

"You're tense," Morinius said.

"I just have a feeling, don't worry about it."

The boy looked at him, doubt in his eyes. But the raven-haired man tried to convince himself of that sentence. It was just a feeling, nothing more.

They reached the Apparation spot, and Morinius hugged the man around the waist. He placed an arm around Morinius' thin shoulders and moved to Apparate.

At the last moment, emerald eyes met emerald eyes. Harry's eyes widened. The other pair just smiled. Ancient, old… a pain deeply buried within the depths of a new happiness.

Morin.

Then Harry vanished.

-

Morinius looked up at his father as they stopped. His eyes were wide, and to the boy's surprise tears had begun to form.

"Dad?" he asked but go no reaction. He backed away a bit and the man blinked. "Dad, what's wrong?"

"N-nothing," Harry replied, swiping at his eyes quickly. "Just thought I saw an old friend."

"Where? Who?" Morinius turned and had a look but he saw no one.

"It's nothing important," the raven-haired man said. "If it was who I think it was, I'm sure I'll hear from him."

Morinius had the feeling that his father tried to be calm while he was actually panicking.

-

**Later that night  
Light's Manor**

Harry was reading a book when a house-elf came in. The man looked at it.

"Someone is at the door, wishing to see master," the house-elf said.

The raven-haired man rose up and walked out from the living room to the hall. As he saw who it was, he froze. Raven hair framed the pale face. Emerald eyes blinked. A simple black robe, two pendants. Harry noticed them and tried to swallow the lump in his throat. All those things Morin Black wanted into a special vault… now the man understood.

Morin smiled and said:

"Well, is this the way you treat a man who came back from the dead?"

This was what he had been waiting on. Harry slowly started to grin, a smile he had not shown since his second godfather died. He almost ran forward and wrapped his arms around the older man. Morin hugged him back, smiling. He saw another man a few steps back and his eyes widened. Clear red eyes looked down at the ground for a moment, all until Morin detangled himself from Harry, moved back and yanked Tom to stand beside him.

"Harry, this is Tom. Tom, you know Harry," he said and shooed the former Dark Lord inside the house before entering himself, closing the door behind them.

"Tom," Harry said and nodded.

"Harry," Tom replied. He had the looks of a thirty-something old man with short and spiky brown hair, pale skin, those red eyes and dressed in dark red robes. He still wore the pendant. "He insisted I'd come. Something about scaring the shit out of the others."

"Of course, why am I not surprised?" Harry asked. "And you, Morin… you better tell me everything or else…"

"Wouldn't dream of leaving anything out," the man said, waving his hand with a smile even as he removed his outer robe. "But how about we get some of our friends here? I'm in the mood for a prank. Should I say hi or boo?"

Typical Morin. Only he could turn the thoughts of death into a joke.

The end

* * *

**EDITED 2010-01-20**

The final ending of this story. I thank all of those who have stuck to this story.

Until another time,

Ja,

Tiro


End file.
